WEIRD DISCOVERIES

TEN INSTANT ADVENTURES™ FOR NUMENERA

BY MONTE COOK
WEIRD DISCOVERIES
TEN INSTANT ADVENTURES FOR NUMENERA
™
 CREDITS
Writer/Designer Monte Cook
Additional Writing Bruce R. Cordell, Shanna Germain
Editor/Proofreader Ray Vallese
Cover Artist Kieran Yanner
Graphic Designer Bear Weiter

Artists
Brenoch Adams, Jacob Atienza, chrom, Guido Kuip, Eric Lofgren, John Petersen,
Roberto Pitturru, Lee Smith, Ben Wootten, Kieran Yanner

Cartography Christopher West, Lee Smith

Monte Cook Games Editorial Board

Scott C. Bourgeois, David Wilson Brown, Eric Coates, Gareth Hodges, Jeremy Land,
Laura Wilkinson, Marina Wold, George Ziets

© 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC. NUMENERA and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.
All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Printed in Canada
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 4
Improv Game Mastering 6
Cypher List 10
Beneath the Pyramid 12
Inside the Pyramid 18
Natural and Unnatural 24
The Spider Knight 30
Please Help Us 36
Guilty! 42
Lost in the Swamp 48
Mother Machine 54
From Here to Sanguinity 60
Escape From the Obelisk 66
Show ’Ems 72
Cheat Sheet 82
Characters 83
 INTRODUCTION

It’s Friday night. Your friends have gathered at your house. Someone asks, “What should we
do tonight?” One person suggests watching a movie, but everyone else is in the mood for
Throughout this a game. You’ve got lots of board games, and that seems like the obvious solution, because
supplement, you’ll
they don’t take any more time to prepare than it takes to set up the board and the pieces.
see page references
to various items Those of us who love roleplaying games have encountered this situation a thousand
accompanied by times. We’d love to suggest an RPG for the evening, but everyone knows you can’t just
this symbol. These spontaneously play a roleplaying game, right? The game master has to prepare a scenario,
are page references the players need to create characters, and all this takes a lot of time and thought.
to the Numenera But what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if you could say, “Hey, I know. Let’s play
corebook, where you
Numenera,” without any preparation? What if you could sit down at the table, hand out
can find additional
details about that some pregenerated characters, and—in the time it takes the players to get familiar with
item, place, creature, their characters—be ready to run a scenario that will last the evening?
or concept. It isn’t That was my goal when I sat down to create this product. Basically, I had to recreate what
necessary to look up a published adventure was and how the GM interacted with it. (I say “interact with” rather
the referenced items than “read” because there isn’t time for the GM to read the whole thing carefully—that’s
in the corebook; it’s
an optional way to
the point.) When I did, I realized that the crux of the issue—the real challenge—involved
learn more about the pacing. This will come as little surprise to those who have read some of my other notes
game and provide about game mastering, because I stress that good pacing is probably the most important
additional information trait a GM can have.
to your players. The easiest way to deal with pacing is to make adventures completely linear. First the PCs
do thing A, then thing B, and finally they reach the climax at thing C. However, not only can
that kind of railroading feel heavy-handed, sometimes it just doesn’t work. The PCs might
do A and B, and then head off on their own initiative and never reach C. That’s why it’s so
much better to empower a GM to handle things more broadly. In other words, don’t script
Pacing, page 342 out the adventure so that it must go exactly as the designer planned. Instead, give the GM
a general plan of where things might lead and what the NPCs and whatnot might do, and
then let her go.
For example, say the PCs are looking for a lost explorer in the wilderness, and they come
upon a strange automaton in a valley that knows where the explorer is. Rather than create
a script where the PCs have to ask precisely the right questions, it’s far better to tell the GM
what the automaton knows and how likely it is to share that information. She can take it
from there.
But what if the PCs don’t talk to the automaton at all? What if they hide from it, blow it
up, or do something no one could have expected, like fly over the valley using a cypher and
never encounter it at all? Is the whole adventure thrown out the window?
Well, unless the GM wants to abandon the adventure altogether, she needs another way
to get that information to the characters. That fact drove much of the development of the
format for Weird Discoveries. The players should be allowed to go where they want to go,
do what they want to do, and find interest in whatever they want. But at the same time,
the GM needs to guide things along at least enough so that the group doesn’t spin its
wheels and get frustrated. This meant that in each scenario, certain key factors—which we
Keys, page 8 just call keys—needed to be identified to create a possible throughline so that something
interesting happens while everyone’s at the table.

4
 INTRODUCTION

These keys, however, needed to be flexible. The PCs must be able to obtain them
in multiple ways and probably multiple places. The keys might even come in different
forms—a bit of loot scavenged off a fallen foe, something interesting found behind a secret
panel, or a nugget of information learned from talking to the right person.
The door to the room where the cool treasure lies is locked, and the key is in the desk in
the mayor’s office. But what if the PCs never go to the office? The system presented here
allows the GM to quickly determine that the key might be elsewhere: in the pocket of the
wandering warrior or in the lair of the six-legged beast. The GM makes sure it turns up at
the right time (pacing). She makes sure that the key is in a location where the characters
have a chance of coming upon it. That doesn’t mean she forces the players’ hands—just
that the PCs have a chance to find what they need to succeed. That actual success (or
failure) is still very much in their hands.
We’ve all seen it happen while running games. The PCs find some weird object and
obsess over it, even though in the original plan (either the GM’s or the designer’s) it had
little meaning. At the same time, the characters ignore the actual clue they were supposed
to find. What’s a good GM to do? She quickly changes things up so that the object everyone Throughout this book,
is so focused on is the clue they need. Why? Because if she doesn’t, things get bogged you’ll see references to
down and the adventure ends up in a dead end with a table of frustrated players. In other Show ’Ems. These images
words, she does it to control the pacing of the session. It’s still up to the players to use the are designed to be shown
to your players at just the
clue properly. moment they come upon
Weird Discoveries assumes that the GM will do that kind of thing, and it empowers her a particular scene in the
to do so. Each scenario has a number of keys. Either the keys are important to the flow adventure. Show ’Ems
of the scenario or they’re things that are just so cool that you don’t want the PCs to pass are found toward the
them by—perhaps a challenge to overcome, a bit of amazing treasure, or something the back of the book, starting
on page 72.
characters will really need.
So keys help with pacing, give a GM a way to manage the flow of things without being
draconian, and don’t require a lot of prep time. Obviously, the scenarios needed to be
short—just a single session—so the GM didn’t have a lot of reading. Basically, if something For ease of use, this book
doesn’t involve what happens in that session, it didn’t need to be in one of our “instant includes the Numenera
adventures.” We also didn’t want a lot of book referencing or page flipping, so as much as Cheat Sheet (page 82)
and six pregenerated
possible, once the GM spends about five minutes reading the basic info, she never needs
characters (page 83).
to look at anything but a single two-page spread at the heart of each scenario. The spread GMs should feel free to
has a map or a graphic to show the possible progression of events. Any text pertaining to a copy or print those tools
spot on the map is right there on that page. No flipping. ahead of time for players.
To make this work, the scenario write-ups had to be short. Even if we put in a few extra
pages of additional notes and whatnot for people who wanted to use these scenarios
outside of our low-prep goal, we knew we could still pack a lot of them into a relatively
short book, like the one you have now.
The scenarios in Weird Discoveries require a GM to do a little improvisational game Improv Game Mastering,
mastering so she can take a very brief encounter write-up and flesh it out where it needs page 6
fleshing. But frankly, every GM needs to be ready to do that anyway. Rather than a designer
trying to cover every contingency or crazy scheme the players might come up with, perhaps
it’s better to arm the GM with the basics and let her come up with more when needed. If
the PCs sneak by the abhumans, for example, a lengthy discussion of their battle tactics
isn’t really needed.
After figuring out the ideal structure for our scenarios, we realized that we had essentially
rewritten how published adventures are typically presented and used. And our playtests
showed that they are easy and fun to run. We hope that you find that to be true as well.

5
 IMPROV GAME
MASTERING
If you’re a game master, you’ve done it
without thinking about it. The players came
up with some idea—big or small—that you
weren’t ready for, and on the spot you came
up with a response, a judgment call, an
answer, or whatever was needed. You used
improvisation to run your game, and more
than likely, it worked out wonderfully.
Many GMs prefer to run a game with
little preparation, making it all up as they
go along. Some find this harder. Weird
Discoveries is an attempt to bridge that gap
by empowering those who don’t want to
spend a lot of time preparing while still
6
informing those who don’t want to make it
all up on the fly.
Before we go any further, here’s the best
bit of advice you’ll get on this subject: don’t
be afraid. Don’t be afraid to come up with
whatever the game needs. Fear leads to
hesitation, and that slows down the game.
It also means that you might not make
the best decision. Don’t think ahead—
just come up with what’s needed at the
moment. Don’t think about what another
GM would do. Don’t think about what the
players will think of you. None of that will
help—it will only slow you down.

Don’t worry about being cliché or
obvious. Neither of those things ever ruined
a game. In fact, sometimes they’re just
what is needed (clichés are used often for a
reason). You can always inject a nice dose of
creativity or weirdness later.
GMs are called upon to make things up
on the spot all the time—NPC names, place
names, little details (of people, places, and
things), game stats, NPC reactions, the
consequences of actions, and more.
Sometimes whole adventures. But it’s not
hard. In fact, it’s just the opposite. As the
GM, you almost can’t make the wrong
choice. If you say that there’s a bakery in the
village, then there is one. Poof! No one can
tell you there’s not.
GAME MECHANICS
Mechanically, Numenera offers a lot of
advantages in improv GMing. NPC stats
are a breeze and require no preparation—
just give them a level. If you want to get
all fancy, give them armor or something
special, but that’s not necessary—level
tells you everything you need to know. A
task, an object, or a challenge of any kind
simply needs to be rated on a scale of 1 to
10. We do that kind of thing naturally. Just
think about it: on a scale of 1 to 10, how
comfortable is the seat you’re sitting in right
now? On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard would
it be to jump up and touch the ceiling?
See? Using improv in Numenera game
mechanics is no harder than that.
USING LOGIC TO GUIDE YOU
Logic is your friend. Make things logical
when you create them, and you’ll always do
well. Things should generally operate the
way it seems like they should. Water flows
downhill. Animals flee when frightened.
Stone walls are more durable than wooden
walls. People don’t like it when you start
murdering in the middle of their town. And
so on. The only time you should go against
logic is when you’re trying to make things
weird. Any of the previous statements
turning out to be untrue would be weird.
(And weird is good in Numenera, but most
things should not be weird.)
IMPROV GAME MASTERING
Don’t let game concerns trump logic.
Particularly in a game like Numenera, don’t
worry about “breaking the game” or some
such. If it’s logical that the wealthy NPC
whose house the PCs just broke into would
have lots of valuables to snatch, then he
does. It’s probably also logical that he’s got
a guard, an alarm, or the like.
The scenarios in this book assume that
the GM will use logic, so most of the time,
they don’t provide those kinds of details. If
the PCs go into a cave, it’s likely dark and
damp and has uneven surfaces. If they go
into a tavern, it will have tables, chairs, a
bartender, and plenty of drinks. Facts like
these are rarely given in the descriptions in
Weird Discoveries.
FLESHING OUT THE DETAILS
The devil is in the details, of course. The Sometimes the best
players want to know how big the town adventures are simple
ones. A lot of clutter
square is, what the water in the pool tastes and background get
like, or what happens when they try to lost without the players
activate the crystalline device while holding ever really discovering
it upside down. or remembering it.
Sometimes a good
If you’re not sure of a detail, don’t flip adventure is just starting
through the book looking for the answer— at Point A, a good reason
come up with it on your own. For example, to get to Point B, and
a handful of interesting
in Beneath the Pyramid, the PCs find the
things that occur on the
severed leg of a biomechanical beast and use way.
it as a sort of tracking device to lead them
to the creature. Does the leg give pulses
when pointed in the right direction? Does it
move and point in the direction of the beast?
Does it send mental images of a direction
and distance to anyone who holds it? That’s
up to you. Go with whatever seems most
appropriate or most interesting. It’s the kind
of detail that any GM can come up with on
her own, and by not writing a long paragraph
describing how it works (text that the GM
needs to read, absorb, remember, and likely
later reference), we can make the adventure
easier and faster to run.
We’ve got your back. If there is a detail
you need some help with, we’ll provide it.
But if it isn’t provided, make it up! We’ll
give you a solid framework, but it’s the GM
who builds the facade that goes over it—the
thing that people see and admire. We’ll
make you look good.
7
 DEVELOPING LOCATIONS
You’re in charge of what places look like.
If you want the leaves of the trees to be
orange, they’re orange. Liven up any and
all scenarios with weird descriptions as the
mood strikes you. A weird tentacled bird in
the tree will surprise and delight the players,
even if it has no impact on the scenario.
If there are no details about a house
or another inhabited place, use logic. A
USING THE KEYS
The biggest difference between running the scenarios in Weird
Discoveries and running typical published adventures is that you
need to manage when and where the keys show up. A key might
be an object, a person, or a bit of information. Regardless, the
GM determines when it shows up in the scenario rather than
letting the scenario make that decision.
Another way to look at it: the players and the GM working
together to create a story is what determines when a key makes
its appearance.
There are two kinds of keys: those that are probably necessary
for the completion of the scenario, and those that just make
things more interesting.
Keys that are probably necessary. If the PCs need a device to
open a way into the black pyramid in the first scenario (Beneath
the Pyramid), that device is one of the keys. Since the device is
crucial to the forward motion of the session, the GM should
pace things so the characters at least have a chance to find it.
However, the GM might decide that the device shouldn’t show
up too soon, for fear that the session will end too quickly. This
is her prerogative and is up to her sense of pacing. Some GMs,
for example, might want to reward smart play by enabling the
PCs to reach their goal early, pacing be damned.
Keys that just make things more interesting. These keys are
almost their own kind of GM intrusion. Such a key might be a
device that causes harm or makes things more complicated. It
might be something that helps the PCs (perhaps undoing a key
that inflicts harm or complication) but isn’t directly related to
reaching a successful end of the scenario.
These keys are not crucial, but they make things more fun.
What’s more, they inject drama into the metagame. If the
PCs find a strange-looking device, they shouldn’t know
automatically that it’s directly related to the plot. Maybe it’s just
a strange device. Worse, maybe it’s dangerous. They’ve got to
look at it closely to figure out which.
8
hermit’s cabin isn’t going to be bare—he
lives there and probably has for years.
He’ll have food, tools, and some useful
equipment like rope or a glowglobe. Never
worry about access to mundane items
unless it’s somehow important to the
scenario to do so. The PCs might think of
getting a glowglobe as “treasure,” but that
doesn’t mean you have to manage it.
At the same time, don’t worry about
describing everything in a location. Allow
the players to do some of that for you. Let
them say, “I could use more rope. Did the
old hermit have some lying around?” If
it seems logical, say, “Yeah, he has some
stashed with some tools under the bed.”
DEVELOPING PEOPLE
AND CREATURES
Do the same thing with NPCs that you
do with places. Maybe you have nothing
more than a name, a level, and a few small
details for an NPC, but once she’s on
stage, so to speak, and in the game, she’s
a person and you’ve got to portray her as
such. That’s easy (and often unimportant)
if she’s a cobbler in the village, but it’s more
challenging if she joins the PCs on their
mission and stays with them throughout a
whole session or more. Now you have to
delve a bit deeper and give her a personality.
Likes and dislikes. Goals and motivations.
(If you know an NPC’s goals, you always
know how she’ll react in a given situation.
That’s why Numenera creature stats include
motive.) You should also give a little more
thought to what she looks like, what she’s
wearing, and what she’s carrying with her.
The same is true of creatures. You
might know how a beast acts in battle, but
occasionally throw in a random detail like how
it smells, that it has a huge scar over its eye,
or something similar. This affects nothing, but
it makes things more interesting.
The place you can get tripped up is when
the PCs interact with a person or creature
in a way you weren’t expecting. They might
talk to the ravenous beast and try to calm it,
suddenly threaten the mayor of the village,
or sneak around the guards rather than fight
them. You’ve got to use logic to figure out
what the creature or NPC will do. How will it
 IMPROV GAME MASTERING
react? What will it do afterward? This is your can be followed just like a map). The
opportunity as the GM to do some honest- encounters are designed to be short and
to-goodness roleplaying. Put yourself in the easy enough to skim through before play
NPC’s place and decide what it would do, starts.
just as you would if you were playing it as a • Some of the encounters have symbols
character in the game—because you are. designating that one or more of the keys
might be present.
WHEN IT TURNS VIOLENT • Some of the encounters have
You never know when an encounter might predesigned GM intrusions, which are GM Intrusion,
become a combat encounter. Sometimes, all always optional. page 108
you know about an NPC is the level. Always After that essential spread (the meat of the
feel free to assume that an NPC is equipped scenario), you’ll find a section called More
The best way to prepare
logically. If she is in a location or a situation Details. If you’ve got time, reading this will for when the PCs don’t
where danger is likely, she’s probably wearing help flesh out the details—the places, the do what you expect?
armor (usually Armor 1). Lots of people, people, and so on. But nothing in this section Don’t build expectations
not just warriors, can produce some sort of is crucial. The scenario works fine without it. ahead of time about
what they’ll do. Don’t
weapon in a fight by pulling a knife from a Finally, each scenario ends with notes prepare for them to do
boot or grabbing a heavy candlestick from for GMs who want to incorporate it into an one particular thing
a table. Remember, it doesn’t matter what ongoing campaign or place it specifically because then you’re not
caught by surprise when
weapon is used, even if it’s just a punch or in the Ninth World. You’ll also find ideas
they do something else.
a kick—NPCs inflict damage equal to their for further development if you want to keep Keep yourself open.
level unless described otherwise. things going after the adventure is done.
This includes awarding experience points
THE FORMAT OF THESE (XP) for discoveries and actions. None of
SCENARIOS this needs to be read ahead of time. Don’t
The scenarios in Weird Discoveries are even bother with any of it until the session
designed to be easy to use and easy to is over.
grasp with just a quick skim. Each starts
out with a brief summary and a few BRINGING IT ALL
paragraphs that add more detail. Then the TOGETHER This book is divided into
most important salient points are called out I know you. You’re a GM who doesn’t ten “scenarios.” You
will also read the term
again, this time in a bulleted list to help you necessarily want to use these adventures as
“session” many times. In
remember them (and to help you reference impromptu game mastering opportunities. this case, the two terms
them later). You must read all of this and You’re going to sit down and read this entire are synonymous. The
absorb it before play starts. Fortunately, these book ahead of time. You’re going to prepare idea is that each scenario
is the equivalent of one
sections are short and written for easy for these low-prep scenarios. four- to five-hour game
comprehension and retention. That’s okay. It’s your book. Use it however session for three to five
Next, you’ll find a section that details the you want. players.
keys involved in the scenario. The book’s
introduction explains how keys work.
Before play begins, you must have a good
idea of what the keys are, but you don’t
need to know how they’ll show up. In fact,
that’s the point. Where the keys are located
and when they come into play are decided
by the flow of the session.
After the keys, all you have to look at are
the Starting Point and Wrap-Up sections,
which are pretty self-explanatory.
All encounters that the PCs will experience
in the session are found on a two-page
spread, organized in a map or chart (which

9
 CYPHER LIST
The following 36 cyphers are ready to use to facilitate running the scenarios in
this book, alleviating prep time and cutting down on the need to reference books
during a session. Use them when you are in need of a “random” cypher.
Level 7 occultic device that can be attached
to a glove or gauntlet. One unanchored item
Cypher, page 278
your size or smaller within long range is drawn
immediately to the device. This takes one round.
The item has no momentum when it arrives.
Level 4 anoetic pill. Grants the ability to see in
the dark for eight hours.
Level 3 occultic crystal. Tapping into the
datasphere’s knowledge, the user can learn the
answer to one question.
Level 5 anoetic sphere with a single switch.
Can be thrown a short distance. Explodes in an
immediate radius, increasing the pull of gravity
in the area for ten minutes. The difficulty of all
physical actions attempted in the area is increased
by two steps. Moving through (or out of) the area
is the equivalent of moving a long distance.
Level 6 anoetic cylinder that projects one egg-
shaped device up to a long distance. Explodes in
an immediate radius, spraying acid that inflicts 6
points of damage.
10
Level 5 anoetic device that can be strapped to
one’s wrist. Emits a beam of energy up to a long
distance, inflicting 5 points of damage from the
heat. All creatures within immediate range of the
target suffer 1 point of damage as well.
Level 4 anoetic adhesive patch that activates
when slapped on flesh. Immediately restores 4
points to the target’s Speed Pool.
Level 6 anoetic pair of crystals. When the device
is activated, any sound produced near one crystal
is emitted by the other. Range is unlimited, and
the crystals remain active for 28 hours.
Level 3 anoetic thick liquid that can easily be
applied to a blade or needle. Anyone affected
by this poison has his vision inverted; for ten
minutes, all he can see is the inside of his own
eyes and optic nerves (effectively, he is blind).
Level 6 occultic rod with some switches. When
activated, the user learns the surface thoughts of
all creatures within immediate range. The effect
lasts for one round.
Level 2 anoetic circular device that can be affixed
to a chain and worn like a medallion. Puts the
user out of phase for one minute. During this
time, the user can pass through solid objects as
though she were insubstantial, like a ghost. She
cannot make physical attacks or be physically
attacked.
Level 4 anoetic canister. Three rounds after
activation, it begins to sense movement within
immediate range. If it detects motion, it explodes
with flame in an immediate radius for 6 points of
damage.

Level 3 anoetic slimy paste in a tube. Once released, this
organic slime dissolves 1 cubic foot of material each round for
three rounds.
Level 4 anoetic nanites in a solution in an injector. A creature
injected is trained in persuasion for the next 28 hours.
Level 5 anoetic handheld device. Produces a force field that
is up to 20 feet wide and 20 feet tall (6 m by 6 m). Anyone
touching the wall is instantly teleported backward 15 feet (5 m).
Level 4 occultic intelligent missile. User chooses a target
within sight, and the missile tracks and attacks that target. If
it misses, it continues to attack until it hits or it misses four
times. If it hits, it injects a poison that puts the victim in a
coma for one minute. After waking, the victim remembers
nothing about the previous 28 hours.
Level 6 anoetic set of tubes. Sprays a stream of liquid up to a
short distance. Where it impacts, it forms a cloud of mist in
an immediate radius. All creatures in the cloud drop what they
are holding and become horribly sad for one minute, during
which the difficulty of all actions is increased by two steps.
Level 5 anoetic device that can be affixed to a belt. For one
hour, the user can float into the air, moving vertically (but
not horizontally without taking some other action, such as
pushing along the ceiling) up to a short distance per round.
The user must weigh less than 250 pounds (113 kg).
Level 3 anoetic liquid in an injector. If a creature is injected,
the difficulty of its next action is decreased by three steps.
Level 3 anoetic needle that can be inserted into flesh. While
inserted, it creates a shimmering energy shield around the
user for one hour, during which time he gains +3 to Armor.
Level 2 anoetic sphere. Can be thrown a short distance.
Explodes in an immediate radius, spraying foam that
extinguishes flame (and smells very bad).
Level 3 occultic handheld device. When the user speaks
into the device, her words are translated into all languages
understood by everyone within immediate range, with the
audio of each translation aimed at the appropriate listeners.
Functions for four hours.
Level 5 anoetic powder in a tube. Mixed with water, this
powder instantly hardens into a rocklike material. Can cover
an area up to 15 feet by 15 feet (5 m by 5 m).
Level 6 anoetic crystal that can be affixed to a melee weapon.
For the next 28 hours, each time the weapon strikes a solid
creature or object, the attached crystal generates a burst of
energy that teleports the creature or object an immediate
distance in a random direction (not up or down). The difficulty
of the teleported creature’s actions (including defense) is
modified by one step to its detriment on its next turn.
Level 7 anoetic liquid in a tube. Immediately restores 7 points
to the drinker’s Might Pool.
11
CYPHER LIST
Level 6 anoetic rod with a crystal tip. Target touched by the tip
falls asleep for ten minutes or until awoken by a violent action
or an extremely loud noise.
Level 5 anoetic handheld device. User can teleport up to a long
distance away and, if desired, bring one other creature of the
same size.
Level 3 anoetic liquid in an injector. If a creature is injected, it
gains +1 to its Speed Edge for one hour.
Level 2 anoetic crystal. Once the device is touched to a
creature or object, for the next 28 hours, the holder of the
crystal knows the distance and direction to the creature or
object, as long as it is in the same dimension.
Level 4 anoetic metal mesh vest. Once activated, the vest keeps
the wearer at a comfortable temperature for 28 hours. During this
time, the wearer gains +4 to Armor against cold or heat damage.
Level 3 anoetic bracelet. Projects holographic images of the wearer
to confuse attackers. The images appear around the wearer, giving
her an asset to Speed defense actions for ten minutes.
Level 2 anoetic liquid in a tube. Hardens and toughens the
drinker’s flesh for one hour, granting +1 to Armor.
Level 3 anoetic square of thin synth that can be wrapped
around a human like a cloak. When activated, the fabric takes
on the colors and textures of everything around the wearer
for ten minutes. This effect reduces the difficulty of hiding or
sneaking by two steps.
Level 4 anoetic small synth cube. When activated by pressing
one side, the cube emits a burst of energy in short range. All
poisons, food and water contaminants, and dangerous viral
organisms in the area are immediately eliminated.
Level 6 anoetic handheld device. Fires a beam at three
different targets within long range at the same time. Affected
targets cower in fear, losing all actions, for two rounds.
Level 5 anoetic ring with a crystal. Allows the user to project a
ray of raw force up to 200 feet (61 m) that inflicts 5 points of
damage from the impact.
 BENEATH
THE PYRAMID
BRIEF SUMMARY
Codun can be located Valuable creatures are stolen away by a
anywhere near a desert or
mysterious mist, and the PCs investigate
wilderness area.
a ruined city beneath an ancient floating
pyramid in hopes of retrieving them.
DETAILS
East of the town of Codun lies a racetrack
a half mile around. Here, locals race 14-
All rukomol racers are
very small in stature. Two foot (4 m) biomechanical insects called
racers ride each beast, rukomol. The PCs happen into town and
one steering the head and spend some time at the races. They get to
one prodding the back to
get the creature to run
know the most prestigious racer, a man
faster. named Uolis, and share in his celebratory
12
dinner. That night, however, the rukomol
belonging to Uolis and two others
mysteriously disappear when a thick blue
mist rolls in. Uolis begs the PCs to help find
his prized mount.
A little investigation reveals the severed
leg of one of the missing creatures in the
caves used as stables near the racetrack.
Further, it acts as a sort of sensor, indicating
which direction to travel to find the rukomol
it belonged to.
The PCs can follow this biomechanical
divining rod to a ruined city of stone
beneath a glistening black pyramid from the

prior worlds. The pyramid floats 80 feet (24
m) above the ground, and the 100-year-old
abandoned city lies directly beneath it. This
is called the City in Shadow. In the ruins, the
PCs must discover a way to reach and enter
the pyramid, for that is where they will find
the stolen beasts, the device that created
the mist, and the perpetrator.
Jiale is an odd numenera expert who
explored the black pyramid with two
bodyguard companions. When he found
the device that created the blue mist, he
sent it out to retrieve mechanical parts he
needed to repair one of his cyphers. About
ten hours before the PCs arrived in Codun,
the mist reappeared in the pyramid with
three rukomol. Jiale turned his attentions
elsewhere in the pyramid, assuming the
blue mist retrieval system to be faulty.
It isn’t. As biomechanical creatures, the
rukomol do have the components he needs,
but he doesn’t realize it.
SALIENT POINTS:
• Codun’s racetrack and the rukomol
stables (found in a series of caves) are
east of the town.
• Uolis is one of the premier rukomol
racers.
• The leg of one of the biomechanical
creatures was severed in the mist,
and it can lead the PCs to the missing
rukomol.
• The city beneath the pyramid is
abandoned, but of human construction.
The pyramid is from the prior worlds.
• The PCs need to get inside the pyramid.
• Very likely, the PCs can’t get inside the
pyramid without the right key.
• The blue mist is part of a numenera
system in the pyramid for retrieving
mechanical parts at a distance.
• An explorer named Jiale used the blue
mist to capture the rukomol, but it was
essentially an accident.
BENEATH THE PYRAMID
STARTING POINT
Reveal Show ’Em A to the players. Show ’Em A, page 72
Traveling two days from Codun, the PCs
see the black pyramid nestled in a break
in a stony ridgeline. As they get closer, it
becomes clear that a ruined city of stone
walls and towers lies beneath the pyramid.
The city was built by Ninth Worlders
precisely in the shadow of the pyramid
when the sun is directly overhead, leaving
most of it perpetually dark. Why they did
this, and why they later abandoned it, is
unclear. The city has three entrances: on the Describe the ruined
west, on the north, and on the south. The city like a maze of
interconnected buildings,
PCs can use whichever they wish.
all without roofs.
THE WRAP-UP
Inside the pyramid, the room next to the
entrance (the one Jiale and his companions
now occupy) has a level 6 device that
creates the blue mist. It can also return the
components (the rukomol) to the place
where it found them. The rukomol are in Rukomol: level 3;
the chamber and are generally unhappy and health 18; Armor 2; long
movement
confused. Getting them out of the pyramid
and back to Codun conventionally will
involve a lot of beast handling and careful
planning on the PCs’ part.
KEYS
This scenario has two keys. Both are likely devices found in the
City in Shadow.
Something that moves a character up to the floating
pyramid. This is a psychokinetic effect, and after its main
use, the key functions as a level 3 artifact that can move
a human-sized object or creature a short distance if it is
within long range. It has a depletion of 1 in 10.
Something that allows access to the interior of the
pyramid. This probably just opens a door on the
underside of the structure.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs eight to ten cyphers.
13
 CORPSES
Three dead humans lie decaying
in the ruins. They have been dead
CODUN for a few days and are infested with
The town has a population of 10,000 and
maggots and other carrion eaters.
lies at the edge of a desert.
In addition to standard gear and
The blue mist that steals away the rukomol weapons (including three explorer’s
comes at night. The journey to the City packs), the PCs can find a device or
in Shadow takes about fourteen hours of a clue to the location of a device that
travel—the better part of two days. serves as either one of the KEYS.
GM Intrusion: A group of eight margr The corpses also have 11 shins and a
ambushes the PCs while they travel random oddity.
through the desert.

The City in Shadow

THE MAD WOMAN
Lyra (level 4) lives in the otherwise
abandoned city, sustaining herself
with rats. She rants and raves but
is surprisingly hardy and capable.
However, she might have a device or
know of one in the city that serves
as either one of the KEYS. Getting
that information out of her is a
difficulty 6 task and certainly can’t ENTRANCE
be done quickly. The PCs can enter the abandoned
Lyra has a dart thrower, four darts city from any of these locations. From
poisoned with level 4 poison (4 the entrance, they can see two towers
points of Speed damage that ignore near the center of the city that reach
Armor), and two random oddities. halfway up to the pyramid.

THE REPTILIAN BEAST

Scaly and red, this 12-foot-long (4 m) carnivorous lizard (level 5; Armor 2) eats
anything it comes upon. If the reptilian beast has the KEY, it is a crystal that seems
embedded in its head. While the beast is alive, the crystal gives it telekinetic
powers, which manifest in two ways:
• Any physical ranged attack made against the beast is redirected back at the attacker.
• The beast can pull or push one creature or object of human size or smaller a short
distance, as an action.
GM Intrusion: The fight with the beast causes a section of wall to collapse,
trapping the character beneath it.

Margr, page 244 THE SHINY CYLINDER

This metal cylinder is 14 feet high and 3 feet across (4 m by 1 m). It is filled with an array of
numenera components, but its overall function is a mystery. It can be opened through force or
finesse, but doing so is a level 4 task. Either of the KEYS might be inside, along with 20 shins.
GM Intrusion: Opening the cylinder triggers an accidental discharge of energy that forces an
Intellect defense roll (difficulty 4). Failure means that the opener sustains 3 points of Intellect
damage, sits down on the ground, and takes no action other than to count quietly until those 3
points are somehow restored.

ENTRANCE
The PCs can enter the abandoned
city from any of these locations. From
the entrance, they can see two towers
near the center of the city that reach
halfway up to the pyramid.
100 Feet
30 m
ENTRANCE
The PCs can enter the abandoned
city from any of these locations. From
the entrance, they can see two towers
near the center of the city that reach
halfway up to the pyramid.
BENEATH THE PYRAMID
INSIDE THE PYRAMID
The pyramid is 80 feet (24 m) above the ground.
The interior chamber the PCs gain access to is lit. It’s a cube
approximately 50 feet (15 m) to a side, filled with numenera control
panels, banks of machinery, and walls of mysterious devices. Metallic
tentacles hang from the ceiling and wave around, grasping at the air
menacingly. Wreckage and metal debris cover the floor.
Jiale and his companions are here, and they likely attack anyone who
intrudes out of fear that thieves have come to steal their treasures.
Explaining to Jiale that all the PCs want is the rukomol might
convince him to negotiate, but the difficulty is increased by one step
because he is selfish and paranoid, and he has an odd way of looking
at things.
Reveal Show ’Em B (page 72) to the players.
The metal arms (level 3) increase the difficulty of all actions in the
room by one step for all involved. This means that while attacking is
harder, so is defending, so those actions are not affected overall. Any
character can choose to ignore the arms and undertake an action
normally (effectively decreasing the difficulty of attack and defense
rolls for that round, assuming the opponent is still worried about the
arms). However, anyone who does so must make a Speed defense
roll or be struck for 3 points of damage and held in place, unable to
act unless he uses a Might-based action to break free.
Dealing with all the metal arms at once (finding the controls to shut
them down, for example) is a level 6 task.
Jiale (level 5; Armor 2) is a nano who can project blasts of energy up
to long range that inflict 5 points of damage and turn the target’s
skin blue. The color fades after a few days. He acts as the leader of
his group and constantly issues commands to his companions.
Cheale (level 3; Armor 3) is a straightforward warrior who never does
as Jiale commands. Instead, she always attacks a different target,
uses a different strategy, and so on.
Derroch (level 4; Armor 1) rarely speaks. He has a “sword” that is
actually a stiff metal wire that produces an aura of energy around it.
It is a level 4 artifact, functions as a medium weapon that inflicts 6
points of damage, and has a depletion of —.
Loot: Each NPC has an explorer’s pack, 12 shins, and two random
cyphers they scavenged from the pyramid.
THE DEACTIVATED AUTOMATON
The automaton is at the top of one of the two 40-foot (12 m) towers
in the city. Any stairs have long since collapsed, so getting to the top
requires other means.
The automaton looks like a metal sphere about 10 inches (25 cm)
across with many small holes and nodules. Activating the automaton
is a level 6 task. Once reactivated, it produces many spidery limbs and
skitters about. If it is the KEY, opening the pyramid is its only function,
and it will do so assuming it understands the command. Otherwise,
the automaton seems to have no function other than to skitter about
and be annoying.
GM Intrusion: Reactivating the automaton requires a power source—
the sacrifice of a cypher or an artifact hooked up to it (a level 4 task).
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 16 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
IN CODUN
If desired, you can start the scenario in
Codun and play through the race, including
gambling, interactions with the locals, and
the excitement of a close race. Determine
the winner of the race (and the outcome of
the bets) however you wish—randomly or
through use of narration.
Uolis: level 2, rukomol Uolis is slight and getting on in years.
handling as level 4 His partner is Tallek, a much younger but
Tallek: level 3, rukomol
equally small man. Uolis is wealthy from all
handling as level 4 his success and generous to a fault. If need
be, he offers each PC 15 shins to recover his
rukomol. Tallek is less likely to trust the PCs
but does whatever Uolis instructs, including
accompanying the PCs if they request it.
The leader of Codun is a woman named
Hiathyn: level 2, Hiathyn. She is old and gets around town
Intellect-based tasks as with the help of two burly servants who
level 4; health 2
essentially carry her.
Ghordra: level 5, The constable is Ghordra, a tall, muscular
interaction and woman with long, straight hair, armor made
perception as level 6; from some kind of insect carapace, and an
health 20; Armor 3
axe that hovers in the air when she pushes
16
a stud on the handle. Ghordra very likely
suspects that the PCs are involved with the
blue mist, as she doesn’t trust strangers.
ON THE ROAD
The trip to the pyramid and the City in
Shadow beneath it might be relatively
uneventful, but GMs can add an encounter
with dangerous creatures, weather, or
another traveler, as desired. In general, it’s
warm and dry during the day and cool and
dry at night. The region is filled with biting
insects, and nameless creatures that look
like winged grouper fish feed on the insects
in the air.
IN THE CITY IN SHADOW
None of the buildings have roofs. Most of
the structures are single story, although
two towers rise up 40 feet (12 m) near the
center of town. Navigating is like moving
through a labyrinth, although climbing the
walls isn’t too difficult (a level 3 task).
There’s an eternal chill in all parts of the
city except the very edges during sunup
or sundown. Tiny reptiles scurry about
the edges of the city, but at its heart, it is

lifeless. Here and there, explorers find the
remains of rotting wooden furnishings or
old sculptures.
IN THE PYRAMID
Jiale and his companions have only just
begun to explore the pyramid and probably
used the same entrance the PCs did. They
are a nefarious group, and Jiale is a little
mad. Even if the PCs talk to them rather
than engage in violence, these three likely
try to bully, betray, trick, or steal from
anyone they come across.
The interior of the pyramid is sprawling
and weird, a maze of machinery and
mysterious technology—much of it still
active, but some quite ruined. The two
chambers in this scenario are just the
beginning. More can be found in Inside the
Pyramid (page 18).
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
In an ongoing campaign, the GM could
take more time to create a friendship
between the PCs and Uolis (and Tallek).
This might occur as the PCs take part in
other, unrelated explorations around Codun
or perhaps guard Uolis after a racing rival
makes threats against his life. The idea is
to make the disappearance of his beloved
rukomol so powerful that the PCs take on
the recovery mission of their own initiative.
Codun could become a centerpiece to an
ongoing campaign, with the PCs returning
to relax and enjoy the races from time to
time. One way to accomplish this is to have
Uolis be so grateful for the safe return of
his rukomol that he buys the PCs a house
in town.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
Codun and the City in Shadow can be
located wherever the GM needs them. But
in the absence of other constraints, Codun
lies near the center of the southern border
of the Pytharon Empire, and the City in
BENEATH THE PYRAMID
Shadow lies to the south, within Matheunis.
This is a cold desert, with rocky, windswept
Matheunis,
terrain. page 208
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for discovering the rukomol (and
returning them), and 2 XP for discovering
the machine that creates the blue mist.
There are two ways to succeed at the
mission. The PCs can use the device in the
pyramid to return the rukomol to Codun, or
they can get the beasts out of the pyramid
physically and lead them back to town
overland.
Further exploration of the pyramid is
possible and in fact is the subject of the
scenario Inside the Pyramid (page 18). After
the PCs return to Codun, if the people learn
some of what they found, Ghordra may wish
to mount another expedition to the City in
Shadow. If the PCs are willing, she and three
other villagers go with them to explore the
area further. The GM can introduce a new set
of interesting encounters there, perhaps with
more details about the inhabitants of the
city, why they built it, and why they left. It is
possible to dig around and find information
about such topics, but the nature of the far
older pyramid should remain mysterious.
Pytharon Empire,
page 161
17
 INSIDE
THE PYRAMID
BRIEF SUMMARY
The PCs explore the interior of an ancient
complex looking for valuables and a safe
exit.
DETAILS
This scenario can be used on its own or as
a continuation of Beneath the Pyramid. If
it’s used on its own, the PCs discover an
ancient pyramid of some black substance
that floats 80 feet (24 m) in the air. By
activating a numenera mechanism beneath
it, the characters are teleported into the
pyramid. Now they must find their way out,
perhaps discovering some valuables along
the way.
If the scenario is used as a continuation
of Beneath the Pyramid, assume that the
entrance the PCs used to get in seals shut
and can’t be easily opened.
The encounters within the pyramid are
strange, involving all kinds of interactions
with the numenera. Prevalent throughout
Living conduit: level the pyramid is the living conduit—a sort
5, resists trickery and of energy flow that runs through many
lies as level 7; immune
to physical attacks; as
locations within the structure via a network
an action, freeze or of transparent tubes. It is a living creature
temporarily annihilate and likely the greatest danger that the PCs
one creature that fails a will face in the pyramid.
Speed defense roll
Every time the PCs enter a chamber that
Being trapped inside the contains the living conduit, it attempts to
pyramid is not crucial to call to one of them telepathically. It has a
the scenario. If the PCs
soothing, charming mental voice and tries
have their own way out
(teleporting, phasing, or to convince them to stand near one of the
cutting their way free, for tube system’s many special valves. It then
example), that’s fine. The instructs them how to open the valve. If
point is to explore and
discover things within
they do, the creature exits momentarily and
the strange, ancient attacks. Energy tendrils grip at one or both
structure. of the character’s eyes and try to tear them
18
out. A Speed defense roll is required to
resist for each eye, and characters move one
step down the damage track per eye lost.
The living conduit then feeds on the eye(s)
it takes.
Once this happens, the creature attempts
to convince the characters to betray one
another and force their comrades to open a
valve.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t
mind control. It’s an interaction. The living
conduit will attempt to negotiate and even
bribe the PCs to do what it wants, and it
knows everything there is to know about
the interior of the pyramid. Thus, perhaps
a character could get information from the
being, but it is difficult to trick.
After a while, particularly if it’s being
rejected, the living conduit will begin to use
threats rather than bribes and sweet talk. It
can solidify or shatter time around a single
creature. Solidified time effectively freezes
the character (in stasis, unable to act or be
affected by anything), and shattered time
makes the character disappear from reality.
These effects last about as long as the PCs
have been in the pyramid on their current
visit, so the longer they stay, the stronger its
potential hold on them.
SALIENT POINTS:
• The PCs are in the pyramid and don’t
have a clear exit.
• The exit lies beyond a sealed door, which
requires a specific key to open.
• The living conduit is living energy,
intelligent and telepathic.
• The living conduit constantly tries to
convince one of the PCs to open a valve,

from which it attacks and feeds on the
character’s eyes.
• The living conduit can freeze characters
or make them disappear.
STARTING POINT
If this scenario follows Beneath the Pyramid,
the starting point is the chamber of the blue
mist machine.
If this scenario does not follow Beneath
the Pyramid, the PCs have just entered the
pyramid. They stand within a large, empty
INSIDE THE PYRAMID
chamber that is a cube approximately 50
feet (15 m) to a side. A bit of debris lies
on the floor. All surfaces are metal, and
control panels, consoles, and unidentifiable Ultraterrestrial creature:
machinery is everywhere. level 4, Speed defense
as level 5; health 18;
burning touch inflicts
THE WRAP-UP 2 points of Might
Whenever the PCs get out, they are likely damage and 2 points
of Intellect damage
done with the scenario. However, if they
because its existence
want to go back in for more exploration, is fundamentally
there’s little stopping them. incompatible with
creatures of this physical
or mental state of being
KEYS
This scenario has four keys, all of which are likely weird devices
in the pyramid.
Something that opens the sealed door. Most likely, this is
a device that simply needs to be touched to the door.
Something that grafts onto a character and begins
burrowing into her flesh. This is likely something that
appears to be an inorganic device but then reveals
itself to be organic as it latches on. It inflicts 4 points of
damage initially and then 1 point of damage per minute
(ignores Armor). If the KEY sustains more than 4 points
of damage from energy attacks, it grows dormant for one
hour. If the character dies, the graft infuses her with a new
consciousness and personality that uses her body to flee
and perform mysterious and likely incomprehensible tasks.
Something that can remove the graft. This is likely an
object that produces a shock or a liquid that forces the
graft to disengage and flee.
Something that turns into or releases a fast-moving,
amorphous ultraterrestrial creature almost twice the
size of a human that attacks the PCs. If the creature is
defeated, the leftover device is an artifact that creates
an extradimensional pocket space that can store one
creature or object at a time, in stasis. The creature or
object to be stored must be touched and be no larger
than about two humans together. If something is already
stored in the pocket space when a new creature or object
is touched, the original appears next to the artifact. It has
a depletion of 1 in 1d100.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs eight to ten cyphers.
19
 STUTTERING DEVICE WARPING BUBBLES
Projecting from the wall, a set of spindly mechanisms pulses A metal cylinder 3 feet (1 m) tall floats in midair
with jolts of energy that arc from one spindle to the next, stop, here. It produces a bubble at the top made
and start again intermittently. The KEY is an object that is of an amorphous substance that inflates and
currently a component of the mechanisms and must be removed deflates as though it is breathing. If the bubble
(a level 6 task). A failed attempt to remove the KEY indicates is touched at all, it pops, creating a spatial warp
that those working at it are jolted with energy and take 4 points that takes the cylinder and all within immediate
of damage. Further, they become fused to the floor and whatever distance to an empty chamber in the pyramid.
they’re touching (including their gear), having been molecularly The machine is otherwise level 5.
bonded to it. This effect is removed when a victim suffers at least If the KEY is here, it is a glowing crystal cube
1 point of damage from another energy source. within the cylinder.
Loot: There are 20 shins and two cyphers to be scavenged here.

ENTANGLED MACHINE
A cylindrical automaton (level 2) with
seven spindly limbs struggles here,
wrapped in cables and wires and half
buried in debris. If freed (a level 4 task), it
immediately trundles off to the Stuttering 50 Feet
Device and then rests quietly. 15 m
Beneath the debris is a small black
pyramid of the same material and
proportions as the main pyramid. If one
of the KEYS is here, it is this pyramid.

ENERGY POOL
A circular pool of liquid, 18 feet
(5 m) across and surrounded by
a small lip, is highly infused with
some kind of energy. Anyone who
touches the liquid takes 4 points
of damage. However, immersing
a depowered machine in the pool,
including a used cypher of an
appropriate type, recharges the Living Conduit
device. This works only four times
in a given 28-hour period. If the KEY
is here, it is an object from another
area that must be immersed in the MOSTLY EMPTY CHAMBER
pool to perform its needed function. This chamber offers little of interest other than a green synth cube amid the
GM Intrusion: The device placed in debris, which may be one of the KEYS.
the pool overloads and explodes, GM Intrusion: If the explorers pass through this chamber a second time,
destroying the device and inflicting 3 a panel in the ceiling opens and a sphere (level 3) drops out. The sphere
points of damage to the character. is 4 feet (1 m) across, transparent, and filled with thick, dark fluid. The
character must make a Speed defense roll to avoid being struck for 3 points
of damage and knocked prone. There are things moving around in the
fluid, and if anyone speaks to the sphere or the creatures inside, the sphere
disappears, and the fluid and creatures spill out. The creatures are four
Steel spider, steel spiders that are actually automatons. If released from the sphere, they
page 260 attack and fight to the death.
 INSIDE THE PYRAMID

TELEPORT PLATFORM
Reveal Show ’Em D (page 73) to the players. THE NADRALIX
Suspended by chains, a circular platform of blue glass hangs Floating in a beam of light, an
8 feet (2 m) off the floor. Symbols of light flash on the floor, impossible cube about 10 inches (25
and the characters receive a telepathic notice that says the cm) to a side slowly spins in the air.
symbols mean “choose your destination.” The platform (level The cube has nine sides and seven
8) can transport everything on it anywhere if that location is corners. Staring at it shakes the
known to someone on the platform, but the first person who sanity of three-dimensional minds,
thinks of a location makes the choice for everyone else on the so characters must make Intellect
platform as well. defense rolls or suffer 5 points of
Intellect damage. Success means
that the character gains some
Interior of the Pyramid kind of fundamental insight of the
GM’s choosing. Only one insight is
gained, however.
If the KEY is here, it is an abstract
concept that, once entered into a
human mind, produces the resultant
effect and even the resultant object,
if applicable.
Living Conduit GM Intrusion: The character’s mind
is so overwhelmed that she has a
psychic break and develops a new
weird quirk, phobia, obsession, or
the like. For example, a character
might fear words that begin with the
letter L, need to count the number
of birds in the sky every noon, or
feel the need to wash her hands
whenever she smells cloves.

ORGANIZERS
In this huge chamber, twelve
inverted cones of synth stand 14
feet (4 m) high, each filled with
narrow slots. Next to each cone, an
automaton arranges and rearranges
square synth plates within the slots,
endlessly. There are thousands, if
not millions, of these plates. The
twelve automatons (level 3) are
ungainly, multiarmed things of
SEALED DOOR metal and glass that ignore the PCs.
Reveal Show ’Em C (page 73) to the players. Any KEY here can be obtained by
This door is level 8 and will not open by normal means. If touched with the proper interacting with the harried, logical,
KEY, it slides open silently. and obsessive automatons. They
Touching the door without the proper KEY causes a device above the door to glow. can provide the location of the
From the glow, an energy creature (level 5) emerges and attacks, fighting to the object (elsewhere in the pyramid) if
death. It is vaguely in the shape of a serpent the size of a human, but with wings convinced to stop their organizing
and tendrils. Anyone touching the creature or striking it with melee attacks suffers long enough to talk.
4 points of damage from energy feedback. It can use its action to disappear and
reappear anywhere within long range. A new energy creature appears each time the
door is touched without the proper KEY, but never more than once every ten minutes.
GM Intrusion: The energy creature enters the body (and mind) of the character, who If you have time, read “More Details” on page 22 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
must succeed at an Intellect defense roll or become possessed, doing whatever the
creature commands—namely, attack those attempting to open the door.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
ALTERNATE START
If the GM doesn’t want to start the scenario
inside the pyramid, the characters can start
in a nearby village named Gristen, where
they hear tales of the strange structure to
the west. If a stronger hook or motive is
required, the PCs might be commissioned
by a man named Gulvaris to enter the
pyramid and retrieve a charged power
source for a device he is building. This
device is found in one of the unlabeled
chambers, but it is depowered and must be
charged in the energy pool.
PYRAMID INTERIOR
The pyramid is full of debris—time is slowly
destroying it from the inside out, although
the degradation of systems and materials
seems uneven and haphazard.
Stranger still, time seems to move at
different speeds in the pyramid. This is
probably unnoticeable to explorers 99 percent
of the time, but occasionally they might see
strange “glitches” like a vague stuttering effect
in reality, PCs missing what other characters
said, PCs seeming to move a bit slowly or
freeze for half a second, and so on.
This time distortion is very likely an effect
of the living conduit, a being that observes
and influences much of what happens
inside the pyramid.
Nevajin, page 248
Pytharon Empire,
page 161
22
EMPTY AREAS
The map has many empty rooms that are not
marked with descriptive text. Like the rest of
the structure, these chambers have debris
on the floor. All surfaces are metal, and
control panels, consoles, and unidentifiable
machines are everywhere. Scavengers might
be able to find 1d10 shins in each area, but
this takes at least ten minutes.
GMs are welcome to add more details
to these areas, although doing so means
the pyramid exploration will probably take
longer than a four-hour session.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under any time pressure).
The pyramid can double as the interior
of any ancient technological installation the
GM desires. Since stumbling into a weird
structure from the past is a fairly common
experience for a Ninth World explorer, that
makes Inside the Pyramid pretty useful.
Many GMs will want to hold it in reserve
until it’s needed to fill that role.
Within the context of a campaign, it’s
easy to imagine that the PCs need or want
something specific within the pyramid.
It may be one of the KEYS—the one that
turns into an amorphous creature would
be interesting, for example—or something
the GM places in one of the chambers or
adds as a fifth KEY. It might be something
the characters need to craft or repair a
numenera device, or something they
were commissioned to find by a wealthy
benefactor or a lonely nevajin in the
wilderness. Perhaps it’s an important clue
for a much larger investigation or quest.
Alternatively, maybe the PCs enter the
pyramid to hunt for a previous explorer
who has not returned, sent by her friends or
relatives to find her or recover her body.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
The black pyramid can be located wherever
the GM needs it. Otherwise, it floats above
the City in Shadow that lies just beyond the
southern border of the Pytharon Empire,

within Matheunis. This is a cold desert, with
rocky, windswept terrain.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 1 experience point
(XP) for discovering the energy pool, 2 XP
for discovering the Nadralix, and 2 XP for
discovering the teleportation platform.
More chambers exist within the pyramid
than are detailed here. GMs can expand
the pyramid to be as vast as they want. In
fact, the interior is very likely larger than
it appears and isn’t confined to a pyramid
shape. The structure certainly holds more
strange discoveries and treasures, not to
mention more dangers.
If the GM wants to make it easy to return
to the pyramid to explore further, she can
adapt the teleportation platform. While
investigating the platform, numenera-
savvy PCs might discover that it can be
reconfigured so that a keyed device will allow
the user to teleport back to the platform from
another location. Cobbling together such a
device is a level 5 task if the character is in
that chamber, and level 7 if elsewhere.
The living conduit is almost impossible
to truly destroy without destroying the
entire pyramid. If the PCs angered it, they’ve
INSIDE THE PYRAMID
made a powerful and strange enemy. If they
return to the pyramid later, they might face
further confrontations and interactions with Matheunis,
the entity—remember, it runs through the page 208
entire structure. What’s more, as a result
of encountering explorers from beyond its
confines after so long, the living conduit
might find a way to extend its awareness
beyond the pyramid. Perhaps it does this
through the devices—cyphers, artifacts,
or oddities—that the PCs took out of the
pyramid.
Eventually, it learns to communicate
and use its time-distorting abilities away
from the pyramid to force people to come
to the black structure. Once it begins to
devour eyes at a distance through energized
devices it has come into contact with (or
devices that have come into contact with
the PCs, as it spreads like a virus), its power
grows considerably. If this happens, the only
way to defeat the creature is to destroy the
pyramid. That involves finding a chamber at
the apex with a powerful lens and conductor
that can channel energy directly from the
sun, creating a massive explosion that
will destroy the pyramid, the city below it,
and the surrounding area. Reaching the
teleportation platform before the explosion
would basically be the only way to survive.
23

Iani: level 4; Speed
defense, jumping, and
balancing as level 5; Armor
2; move a long distance
each round; as an action,
can absorb any device it
touches. As another action,
it can use the absorbed
device (if applicable)
as though the device
were a natural part of it.
Given ten minutes, it can
transfer the abilities of the
absorbed device to all iani.
It can also reject a device
and spew it out again.
Guyan: level 5, seeing
through lies as level 4
NATURAL AND
UNNATURAL
BRIEF SUMMARY
Strange creatures stole the only source of
fresh water a village has, and the PCs must
travel into their lair to retrieve it.
DETAILS
After dwelling motionless in darkness for
millennia, creatures that call themselves the
iani have begun venturing out into the lands
around their cavernlike lair. The iani are
evolved mechanisms with both mechanical
and biological aspects. They have the
ability to absorb mechanical devices and
assimilate them into their bodies. They are
24
looking for thirteen specific devices that
they call “the Legacy,” though no one but
the iani understands what that means.
While investigating the human village
of Adderstal one night, a band of iani
discovered a powerful device in the
pool around which the village is built: a
condenser that transforms air into clean,
fresh water. The condenser is vital to the
residents, for all the water within a day’s
travel is contaminated and unfit to drink.
Unfortunately, the iani took the device.
Guyan, the leader of Adderstal, begs
the PCs for help when they pass through

looking for supplies. The condenser’s
already been gone for three days, and things
are looking dire. The lone Aeon Priest in the
village, Kuipania, will reward the PCs with
a unique gift if they help. She can make
elaborate tattoos that, when complete,
permanently provide +1 to Armor when the
subject is otherwise unarmored. The tattoos
cover much of the person’s body and take
a full day to complete for each subject.
(The tattoos are laced with an array of
microscopic, heat- and sweat-powered force
field projectors that work in conjunction,
but they are canceled out by lots of other
heavy materials, like armor.)
To learn what happened, the PCs need
to talk to a few people in Adderstal, follow
a trail of clues that lead to Old Woman’s
Bridge, and eventually find the ancient
cavern in the woods where the iani dwell.
There, the characters can either do battle
with the iani or negotiate for the return of
the condenser.
SALIENT POINTS:
• Adderstal is a village located in a
region where the water sources are
contaminated.
• Adderstal relies on a condenser device
for water, and it is now gone.
• The leader of the village, Guyan,
promises that the Aeon Priest, Kuipania,
will reward the PCs for helping with
tattoos that give protection.
• The condenser was taken by
biomechanical creatures called the iani.
• The iani are intelligent but have little
experience with the world at large (and
humans in particular).
• The iani can absorb mechanical devices.
• The iani dwell in a cavern the PCs must
find in order to retrieve the condenser.
STARTING POINT
Adderstal is home to a few dozen families.
It is built like a set of circles surrounding
the pool constructed to hold the water
produced by the condenser. The people are
hunters, herders, and craftspeople, and
there are twice as many thyrans as people.
The village has a common house where
the PCs can rest, a tavern where they can
NATURAL AND UNNATURAL
get food and drink, and a small marketplace
where they can buy common items. (No
cyphers or artifacts here, however.)
Guyan, the village leader, recommends Kuipania: level 6,
that the PCs speak to Miola Broun or Narv numenera-related tasks
as level 7
the butcher for information, as they both
claim to have seen the culprit who stole
the condenser. Guyan can also show them
where the condenser sat, in a round pool Thyrans are level 2
creatures with both
that was recently filled with water but is avian and mammalian
now empty. The condenser was about as big features, not unlike
around as a large man’s torso and weighed feathered goats. They are
known not only for their
100 pounds (45 kg). The villagers have
milk and meat, but also
neither the knowledge nor the parts to build for the blue pearls found
a replacement. within the feathers of
very old individuals.
THE WRAP-UP
The best-case scenario is that the PCs
deal with the iani one way or another and
return to Adderstal with the condenser. It
is possible that they find another way to
decontaminate the local water supply, and
that’s a successful end as well. However,
if someone doesn’t do something within a
week, the villagers will have to leave the area
to find water.
KEYS
This scenario has three keys, two of which are sources of
information, and one of which is an object.
Someone who knows the location of the iani cavern.
Someone who saw the iani in the village so the PCs know
what to look for.
Something the iani desire. This is one of the devices the
iani call “the Legacy.” It has no value to anyone but them.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs four to six cyphers.
25

IANI CIRCLE
Eight iani can be found deeper in the cave. They
do not really care about the condenser they
absorbed and will return it if the PCs manage
to open up lines of communication and offer
something in return. There is no roll needed if
the object KEY is offered to them.
GM Intrusion: All the recent activity in the
cavern triggers a cave-in. The character must
make a difficulty 4 Speed defense roll or suffer 3
points of ambient damage and end up trapped
under rubble that will take hours to clear.
CAVERN ENTRANCE
Reveal Show ’Em E (page 74) to the players.
The cavern is wide and open, situated near
some ancient, overgrown ruins. Decaying
wreckage of metal and synth fills the cavern and
covers the ground outside.
Reveal Show ’Em F (page 74) to the players.
Two iani watch over the entrance. They attack
clearly hostile intruders.
GM Intrusion: One of the iani has absorbed a
magnetic pulse device. The character’s metal
weapon is ripped from his hand and tossed
a short distance away. If the character is
wearing metal armor, he is tossed backward
an immediate distance, is knocked prone, and
suffers 1 point of ambient damage.
RELLIN MOR
Rellin (level 5) is a loner. He tends a flock of thyrans and keeps to himself. He’s
young and tall, with a prominent nose, and he’s blind in one eye. His clothing is
adorned with blue thyran pearls.
If Rellin is the KEY, he tells the PCs that he recently found strange tracks in the
woods, and they lead from the village to somewhere south, on the other side of
Old Woman’s Bridge. He wears a disk around his neck like a medallion. This is
either the object KEY or a random cypher.
Whether or not Rellin is the KEY, he is a mutant with incredible density that gives
him +3 to Armor and lets him deal 3 additional points of damage. He also treats all
strength-related tasks as if he were level 7. Rellin is terrified that his true nature will
be discovered and that he’ll be exiled, persecuted, or killed. He probably assumes
that a bunch of strangers coming to ask him a lot of questions are on to him and
pose a serious threat.
GM Intrusion: The character notices something suspicious, like the deep footprints
Rellin leaves when he walks, and Rellin reacts with violence.
THE BEFOULED RIVER Outside
The river here is pale yellow, contaminated by a of Town
broken pipe of ancient origins that spills toxic
chemicals into the water. Drinking this water
is dangerous and results in 1 point of Speed Outside
damage per drink. The river is neither deep nor of Town
fast moving.
The local wildlife have adapted to the water, but
humans and the creatures they brought with
them to the area (thyrans) have not.
Outside
OLD WOMAN’S BRIDGE of Town
The bridge is stone and provides a safe way to
cross the contaminated water. Eight bandits
(level 2) and their leader (level 3) hide here
to waylay travelers. They demand all the PCs’
valuables. They flee if more than half of them
fall in battle.
The leader carries a green glowing rod that might
be the KEY or might be just a random cypher.
The road from here runs right by the iani cavern.
YAMI IN THE WILDERNESS
If the PCs didn’t encounter Yami Chetris
(level 2) in Adderstal, they should meet her
outside of town, trapped on the wrong side of
the river because she’s afraid of the bandits
blocking Old Woman’s Bridge. If she is the
KEY, she can tell the characters that she saw
creatures she had never seen before hanging
around a large cave mouth in the woods, which
she can lead them to. She describes the iani as
“machines acting like animals.”
 MIOLA BROUN
Miola (level 3) is a baker who sells her wares out of her house. She is
stout and middle-aged, as well as talkative, opinionated, and overall
negative about most things.
If Miola is the KEY, she says that the night the condenser disappeared,
she saw strange “unnatural hounds” prowling the streets, poking
around in nooks and crannies, and scaring her half to death. These, of
course, were iani. She also mentions that Charmele might be involved
somehow—she says that the woman is not at all trustworthy.
If Miola is not the KEY, she’s a liar looking for attention and knows
nothing about the situation. But that doesn’t mean she won’t make
up something. She hates Charmele and is wont to blame her for the
condenser’s mysterious disappearance.
GM Intrusion: People keep coming to Miola to buy bread or other
goods, so she spends lots of time talking to her customers about a
variety of (boring, unrelated) things, making it very difficult to keep
her focused on the matter at hand.
Adderstal
Outside of Town
OANE CRAWFUR
Oane (level 4), a trapper, is young and wiry, with
only moderate social skills at best. If she is the
KEY, she has seen strange creatures crossing
Old Woman’s Bridge recently. She calls them
“biomechanical animals.” These, of course,
were iani.
GM Intrusion: Oane is in love with Guyan, and
she gets it into her head that the character is a
rival for the leader’s affections. She won’t talk
until convinced otherwise.
NATURAL AND UNNATURAL
NARV THE BUTCHER
Narv (level 5) is a tall, thin, older man who works with his
daughter, Junni, and a local boy named Redis to provide the
village with meat. He is reticent and assuming.
If Narv is the KEY, he can potentially be convinced to admit
that he saw mysterious creatures the night the condenser
disappeared. He says they were not natural creatures—
more like automatons, but “sort of alive automatons,” as
he calls them. These, of course, were iani.
If Narv is not the KEY, he tells the PCs that what they heard
is incorrect—he didn’t see anything. However, he might
recommend to characters he likes that they talk to one of
the Chetris children. He thinks they might know something.
CHARMELE
Charmele (level 4), tall and attractive,
is the owner of the dairy. Her extended
family owns a number of thyrans, and
their milk is used for cheese and butter as
well as for drinking. It’s certainly true that
she’s profited by the absence of potable
water, but she’s no thief. More important,
any advantage she has in selling milk in
lieu of water is short lived—she needs
water for the dairy to function.
However, Charmele might suggest that
the PCs talk to Rellin Mor and Oane
Crawfur for knowledge of the comings
and goings beyond the town itself.
THE CHETRIS FAMILY
Huni and Estrin Chetris (both level 3) have a family of six children
and live with Huni’s aunt Fennia (level 1).
If the family is the KEY, Yami Chetris (level 2), the 15-year-old
daughter, says that she was out hunting one day and saw creatures
she had never seen before hanging around a large cave mouth in the
woods. She describes them as “machines acting like animals.”
If the family is not the KEY, they waste a lot of time providing useless
or contradictory information. However, Estrin recommends that the
PCs speak to Rellin Mor.
The family has plenty of old junk piled behind their house. The object
KEY might be there, as well as up to three cyphers or oddities. Huni
might be willing to trade.
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 28 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
GMs should be aware that this scenario
does not have a lot of combat or action.
This is important only in that some groups
breeze through noncombat encounters
quickly, and the session might end sooner
than planned. If this seems likely, other
characters in the village can provide
additional encounters, either unrelated or as
red herrings. Throwing in a few extraneous
people for the PCs to talk to shouldn’t be
too hard.
ADDERSTAL
The village is simple and quite small, but
thriving. Residents dine on thyran meat
and cheese, and use their blue pearls for
decoration and crafts.
Everyone knows everyone in this small
community. Guyan is a well-respected leader,
for the most part, although a few hold the
opinion that he’s the town leader because
he’s not capable of doing anything else.
The lack of water, however, is likely
to have people at each other’s throats
eventually. A burly, retired explorer named
Aellicon: level 4; Armor 3 Aellicon takes it upon himself to attempt
to maintain order, even to the point of
usurping Guyan’s position, which of course
causes strife. Aellicon does not trust the
Aldeia, page 134
PCs and wants nothing to do with them or
any help they might provide.
THE RIVER
In theory, the PCs could track down the
pipe contaminating the water and stop
it. Finding the pipe is a level 5 task and
likely takes four or five hours. Sealing it
off is a level 6 task and will require tools
and materials that are at least level 4. This
would be an entirely different (but viable)
solution to the problem at hand.
THE IANI CAVERN
The ruins outside the cavern are the origin
of the pipe leaking into the river. These ruins
are part of an unbelievably ancient structure
that is actually part of the cave itself—the
“hill” in which the “cave” lies is a piece of
that structure, buried in layers of sediment.
The “cave” is really just an entrance into the
28
ruins. The iani are somehow tied to these
ruins, but the creatures no longer relate to
them in any manner.
The iani have waited, motionless,
philosophizing and speculating, for millennia
within the darkest recesses of the cave.
Their outlook is almost incomprehensible
to humans, and communication is difficult
as they speak no human languages. Their
tongue is more of a machine language of
tones of various pitches and lengths. They
are extraordinarily intelligent, however,
and can interpret much from gestures and
whatnot, and they can quickly pick up the
basics of a written language, which they can
scrawl in the dirt.
The cave and the ruined structure are
not entirely stable. At times, they shift and
shake, making various portions collapse.
Within a decade, the whole cavern, and the
attached ruins, will probably cave in entirely,
destroyed forever.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
In many ways, Adderstal can be thought
of as the most typical aldeia in the Beyond.
It can be used as a model for any such
village. The PCs might wander into town
looking for supplies and get caught up in
the adventure. Alternatively, word of the
missing condenser might have reached
them via a traveler or merchant in their
location (though since travel is limited and
the woes of a small village are relatively
insignificant, such news wouldn’t travel too
far).
Or, to get even weirder, the contaminants
in the nearby river might contain a
chemical compound that the PCs require
for an unrelated reason—crafting some
numenera, developing a cure for a plague,
or satisfying the mysterious needs of an
Aeon Priest benefactor. In other words,
the characters might come to Adderstal
because of its water problem, only to be
caught up in the scenario when they arrive.
Last, to take things in a completely
different direction, the PCs might come to

Adderstal looking for a dangerous mutant
named Rellin Mor. There’s a bounty on his
head because he killed a pair of Angulan
Knights a year ago with his bare hands. (It
was in self-defense, but the knighthood
doesn’t care.) Fleeing from persecution,
Rellin has come to Adderstal hoping to keep
his past, and his mutant nature, a secret.
The PCs are supposed to bring him to
justice but find themselves caught up in the
water issue facing the village.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
Adderstal can be found almost anywhere in
the Ninth World. However, if the GM has
no preference, the village is in the Beyond,
on the northwestern edge of the Ba-Adenu
Forest.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for discovering the iani, and 2 XP for
recovering the condenser.
Young Yami Chetris is very likely taken
with the strangers who have come to
Adderstal—explorers and powerful
individuals—particularly if they seem noble
and kind. She almost certainly wants to join
the PCs’ group, and if refused, she might try
to follow them when they leave the village
to partake in their next “grand quest” even
if only as an observer, and even if it
means leaving her family. The characters
may need to deal with this one way or
another, and they may have to go out
of their way to return the girl to her
family.
After dealing with the iani,
the PCs could look into the
contamination of the river.
This might lead not only to the
alternate solution discussed earlier,
but ultimately to an exploration of
the ruins near the iani cavern. Although
the locals say that the ruins are quiet and
as innocuous as any natural feature in the
area, the PCs might want to look for
numenera within them. Getting into
the ruins is difficult except through the
cave itself, which still offers access. Inside,
NATURAL AND UNNATURAL
explorers might find cyphers, oddities,
and perhaps even artifacts, as well as
automatons—which might be considered Angulan Knights,
“proto-iani”—that are likely inactive at first page 224
and hostile later. The ruins are unstable (like
the cavern), and collapses might hurt or
trap explorers.
The iani will soon leave the area to look
for the mysterious artifacts they call the
Legacy. If the PCs somehow achieved a
good relationship with them, the iani might
ask the characters for help. The PCs can
provide useful guidance as the creatures
venture out into a world that is utterly alien
to them. The iani know literally nothing
about humans or the Ninth World, and
their quest will lead them into very strange
territories and situations across both Ba-Adenu Forest,
the Steadfast and the Beyond. Guides, page 189
advisors, aides, and guards would be well
rewarded with all the devices the iani find
that are not part of the Legacy. Such a
journey might lead to any number of other
scenarios presented in this book, not the
least of which would be Please Help Us (the
machine in the wall might contain a part of
the Legacy), Lost in the Swamp (a portion of
the Legacy could be in the Mire Sanctum),
Mother Machine (the machine itself might
be part of the Legacy), and Escape From the
Obelisk (a portion of the Legacy might be in
the obelisk).
29
 THE SPIDER
KNIGHT
BRIEF SUMMARY
An outlaw overlord who happens to be the
heir to the throne stops at nothing to get
what she wants, including attempting to
fool the PCs into helping her.
DETAILS
The Spider Knight is the pseudonym of
Fialla Nooran, great-granddaughter of
the deposed Queen Nooran of the Isle of
Berenock. She has operated for years as the
Spider Knight, an outlaw and a malicious
villain who takes what she wants and
delights in the suffering of others.
Berenock hovers high in the sky above
the wilderness, with most people unaware
of its very existence. The island is actually
positioned on some kind of ancient
hovering craft or structure—a large floating
disk of metal. The underside is covered
30
in jagged, growing crystals, while the
top is covered in rock, soil, and a small
rainwater lake. Trees and other plants grow
on the island, a fertile and usually tranquil
kingdom high in the sky. The island is about
5 square miles (13 square km), and in the
center is a single town that surrounds a
glistening palace of crystal.
The Spider Knight arrived on Berenock
three weeks ago to claim her birthright. The
inhabitants of Berenock have no intention
of returning the Noorans to power, for they
still remember how despotic the last Queen
Nooran was. They sent her away.
While the Spider Knight raises an army
(mostly of bandits) to take Berenock
by force, she commissions her servant,
Orrudis, to obtain a powerful detonation
that will aid her efforts. Orrudis comes
upon the PCs and asks for their help, lying

about what’s going on. He says that the
detonation is a recording device that proves
that his mistress, Fialla Nooran, is the
rightful heir to a throne she is being unfairly
denied.
The detonation is actually a viral bomb.
When activated, it will unleash a horrific,
debilitating virus previously unknown in the
Ninth World. The insidious thing about the
virus is that the sicker the victim becomes,
the healthier she believes herself to be. It
affects both mind and body. If the Spider
Knight gets this device, she will use it to
hold the people of Berenock hostage, forcing
them to let her take the throne. She can then
solidify her power by using the bomb to
intimidate any who might oppose her.
If the PCs bring the “recorder” to Orrudis,
he might try to further lure them into the
service of his mistress. However, at some
point—from some source—the PCs learn
that Fialla is actually a cruel outlaw called
the Spider Knight. At that point, they need
to decide if they have been helping the
wrong side of an important conflict or if
they should disengage from the situation
entirely.
SALIENT POINTS:
• The Spider Knight is the heir to the
throne of a floating island. But she’s also
ruthless and vile.
• The Spider Knight’s servant, Orrudis,
lies to the PCs to get them involved.
• Orrudis says the PCs can help reinstate
the proper ruler of her land by finding
a recorder that stores genealogical
evidence proving her right to the throne.
• The people of the floating island,
Berenock, know that the Spider Knight is
heir to the throne—they just don’t want
her.
• The “recorder” is actually a bomb with a
potent virus that the Spider Knight will
use to threaten Berenock.
• The PCs should eventually learn the
truth about the deception and decide
what to do.
THE SPIDER KNIGHT
STARTING POINT
Orrudis finds the PCs wherever they are— Orrudis: level 3, Speed
perhaps in a town called Everton—and defense as level 4, lies
and trickery as level 5;
presents them with his lie. He offers 20 Armor 1
shins and a cypher to each of the characters
if they will undertake a mission for him, and
more important, his poor mistress who is
denied her rightful throne.
The mission, as he lays it out, is to find
a band of evil murdens and recover the Murden, page 247
“recorder.” He describes what it looks like
and makes it clear that the PCs should
not damage, activate, or tinker with it in
any way. The device is fragile and very
important. He gives them clear directions
on how to find the murden camp in the
nearby wilderness.
THE WRAP-UP
If the PCs help the Spider Knight gain the
throne, she is grateful and rewards them,
with the thought that perhaps they can
serve her in the future. Beyond what Orrudis
offered, she has all of Berenock beneath her
and can provide more cyphers and more
opportunity for gain.
If the PCs help prevent the Spider Knight
from taking the throne, the people of
Berenock are the grateful ones, rewarding the
characters with free food and lodging for as
long as they desire, along with a cypher each.
Even just giving the people of Berenock
the antidote makes a huge difference in
their struggle against their new enemy.
KEYS
This scenario has three keys:
Someone who can reveal the truth about Fialla Nooran.
Something that gives access to the Spider Knight’s tower.
Something that cures the virus in the viral detonation.
There are ten doses, but in the hands of a knowledgeable
person, such as an Aeon Priest, the cure could be
replicated fairly easily.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs eight to ten cyphers.
31

MURDEN CAMP
Here, four hide tents surround a
campfire. The six murdens in the
camp attack anyone that approaches.
Loot: One murden has 11 shins.
Another has an oddity that is a
glowing, extremely strong string 6
inches (15 cm) long. A third has a
random cypher.
Start
VERIDON THE TRADER
On the road to the murden camp, this middle-aged,
flat-faced man (level 4) drives a small cart filled with
various goods—glassware, fine cloths, and a variety
of specialized tools. He’s talkative and friendly, as
he’s lonely on the road.
If he is the KEY that can reveal the truth about the
Spider Knight, he brings it up only if he hears the name
“Fialla Nooran,” which he recognizes as the well-known
bandit calling herself the Spider Knight. He doesn’t
know anything about the detonation/recorder, but he
knows enough about the Spider Knight to suggest that
the PCs have likely been lied to.
Alternatively, if the characters don’t specifically
mention their mission, Veridon tells them about
a floating island called Berenock that is in need of
help because an outlaw called the Spider Knight is
attempting to seize its throne.
Loot: If Veridon learns that the PCs are going after
murdens, he offers them an occultic cypher in the
form of a complex device that disrupts murden
thoughts. This device, when activated, affects all
murdens within long range. It cancels their telepathic
powers so they cannot communicate with each other
or create the mental “static” that harms others. In
addition, the difficulty of all actions involving them
is modified by one step to their detriment. These
effects last for one hour, but once the cypher is
activated, it cannot be moved or the duration ends
immediately. Veridon will sell it to the PCs for only 10
shins. He hates murdens.
MURDEN CHIEF
The murden chief (use murden stats
but increase to level 4, perception
as level 6) can communicate with
humans telepathically, but it is painful
for humans to endure. Each round, a
human communicating with the chief
must make an Intellect defense roll
or suffer 2 points of Intellect damage
(ignores Armor) due to long-forgotten
disturbing memories that suddenly
surface.
The chief is more than willing to parlay
rather than fight, offering the viral bomb
in exchange for a cypher or artifact of at
least level 4.
If he is the KEY that can reveal the
truth about the situation, the chief is
familiar with the names “Spider Knight”
and “Fialla Nooran.” Long ago, his
people worked with the deposed Queen
Nooran.
If he has the KEY that is the antidote,
it’s because he knows very well what
the detonation can do and he wants to
safeguard himself against its effects.
ORRUDIS
Orrudis is near where the PCs first encountered him,
waiting for their return. He pays them the agreed-
upon price in return for the “recorder.” (Randomly
determine the cyphers he provides.) If the PCs seem
willing and able, he might take them to the Spider
Knight’s—or rather, Fialla’s—tower so she can
attempt to recruit them into helping her further. If
so, he sends word ahead so she can continue the
ruse of being the kindly, just ruler denied her throne.
If Orrudis is the KEY that can reveal the truth about
the situation, it comes in the form of an accidental
slip of the tongue. In conversation, he refers to Fialla
as the Spider Knight.
If he has the KEY that gives access to the Spider
Knight’s tower, it is a device hidden on his person
that sends a signal for the guards at the tower to
stand down. He won’t give up the device unless
forced to (or unless he is killed).
If he has the KEY that is the antidote, it is because
he hired other explorers to get it for him—he didn’t
want the Spider Knight to die if she used the viral
detonation. It also protects him in case she ever tries
to threaten him with the virus. He won’t give up the
antidote unless forced to (or killed).
 THE SPIDER KNIGHT

THE SPIDER KNIGHT

Reveal Show ’Em H (page 75) to the players.
The Spider Knight is not automatically hostile unless
attacked. However, she is imperious and arrogant,
quick to take offense, and mean when she’s angry.
The Spider Knight wears an energy gauntlet artifact
with a depletion of 1 in 1d20, and a helmet artifact
that reduces the difficulty of all perception tasks by
one step with a depletion of —. She also has two
random cyphers and 25 shins.
If the KEY is here, it is an injector in her personal
THE SPIDER KNIGHT’S TOWER bedchamber.
Reveal Show ’Em G (page 75) to the players. Spider Knight: level 4, perception and deception
The Spider Knight can be found in an isolated as level 5; health 20; Armor 3; inflicts 5 points of
structure miles away from Berenock. She’s taken damage with her sword; blasts cell-disrupting energy
up residence in an ancient tower made of shifting from her gauntlet for 5 points of damage up to short
sections of a ceramiclike synth and glass. She uses range; can make both attacks as a single action
only the bottom level, as it’s the only part where the GM Intrusion: If seriously injured, the Spider Knight
walls, floors, and ceilings don’t move. The upper produces a cypher that allows her to turn invisible and
levels are very dangerous. go out of phase, which she uses to escape. However,
Outside the tower, two trained houndlike beasts with she leaves behind her armor and equipment.
orange scales and leathery frills (level 2; Armor 2)
and their master (level 3; Armor 1) stand watch. Their
master has a crossbow.
The occupied level’s interior is mostly one large
room that the bandits use for a barracks, a
storeroom, and a communal area. The only separate
areas are the Spider Knight’s quarters and a
reception room where she is likely to meet with the
PCs if they come to the tower peacefully.
A dozen bandits (level 2; Armor 1) dwell here
currently. Each has a melee weapon and a ranged
weapon, as well as 2 shins.
If the KEY is here, the Spider Knight’s true identity
becomes obvious at this point.

BERENOCK
Although it floats high in the sky, the tiny “land” of Berenock is easy to reach.
The Narsen family lives just below Berenock and uses three niacali ferries to
transport goods and travelers all day long (but not at night). They charge 1 shin
per person for passage. Niacalis are creatures—part fish, part hot-air balloon—
that carry gondolas up and down as they swim through the air, spurred by riders
with red-hot crops.
If the PCs travel to Berenock, anyone they meet there might be the KEY that can
reveal the truth about the Spider Knight.
If Berenock has the KEY that gives access to the Spider Knight’s tower, it can be
obtained only if the PCs let it be known that they want to help oppose her. In
that case, a young woman with a mech arm named Hua (level 3, subterfuge and
lockpicking as level 4) offers to guide them to the tower and show them how to
sneak in through a secret entrance in the back, which she found not long ago If you have time, read “More Details” on page 34 for
while gathering information. information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
THE SPIDER KNIGHT
Fialla Nooran has had a difficult life, and
it has made her cold, violent, and power-
hungry. As her pseudonym and armor
styling suggest, she has an affinity for
spiders. Fialla is very smart—she’s a
devious planner and schemer who hates
anything she cannot possess or control. If
she is denied something that she desires,
she would rather see it destroyed. The
pain and misfortunes of others satisfy and
invigorate her.
Without her armor, Fialla is a rather
unremarkable-looking woman with sad
eyes. If need be, she can play the role of
the rightful heir who has been denied her
birthright and wronged by the people who
stole her family’s throne.
THE SPIDER KNIGHT’S TOWER
This structure stood empty for unknown
millennia, and even now the current
residents occupy only the ground floor.
Portions of the upper levels shift and
change configuration, seemingly at random.
This means that a corridor might connect
two chambers one day and not the next.
Instead, it might connect to three chambers
or lead to a dead end. A chamber might
double in size or suddenly be without exits.
This makes the tower not only difficult but
also dangerous to use. Getting caught as
sections shift can mean being crushed.
However, exploring these empty
chambers might be rewarding, as there is
numenera to be discovered. The Spider
Knight intends to do just that, perhaps
leading a small band on an expedition into
the upper levels, but she has yet to do so.
BERENOCK
Berenock is a secret little kingdom all its
own, and the people of the land like it that
Jiles Bedeuin: level 4, way. The current ruler is the regent, Jiles
diplomacy and seeing Bedeuin. He is an older, fit man with a tall,
through deception as
level 5 angular frame. He is well liked and very
smart.
About 1,200 people live in Berenock.
If need be, they can raise a fighting force
34
of about two hundred, but in an all-out
invasion scenario, they might have closer to
five hundred fighters (although some will
be quite old, quite young, or not entirely
capable).
The people of the tiny kingdom raise
crops and tend raefruit trees. They have a
mostly vegetarian diet, but the occasional
trader brings meat and fish from the land
below. Craftspeople in Berenock make
various objects out of the unique crystal
that is prevalent in the land.
The folk of Berenock have few facilities
for visitors, as they hardly ever get any. They
are insular but not unfriendly. Perhaps their
most remarkable qualities are their unity
and their steadfast allegiance to each other
and to Berenock, which might stem from
when the previous generation overthrew
their evil queen (the Spider Knight’s great-
grandmother).
LIKELY COURSES OF ACTION
The flow of this scenario can go many ways.
The PCs do as they’re asked and call it a
day. This is the path of least involvement.
The characters get paid to do a relatively
easy job and then move on. This course of
action will make for a short adventure.
The PCs do as they’re asked, and then
decide to help the Spider Knight further.
After the characters obtain the viral bomb,
Orrudis (without clueing them in on
everything) invites them to help “Fialla,
the true heir” take her throne by force.
Perhaps the PCs continue to be misled into
thinking this is all a good deed, or perhaps,
ultimately, they don’t care about such things
and just want to get paid.
The PCs discover early that the Spider
Knight is evil. This can happen in many
ways—from Veridon, from the murden
chief, by examining the viral device, or
through questioning Orrudis. At this point,
they’ll probably either turn against her to
help Berenock or not get involved at all.
The PCs discover late in the game that
the Spider Knight is evil. This likely happens
after visiting Berenock or the Spider Knight.
Again, at this point, the characters will
probably either turn against her to help
Berenock or just leave.

USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
Perhaps the best way to make this
adventure work in a campaign is to have
the PCs either hear about or encounter the
Spider Knight before the scenario starts.
Then, when they learn that the woman
they’ve been hired to help is actually
the outlaw they already know about, the
revelation will have more meaning.
In a campaign, the struggle between
Berenock and the Spider Knight can be an
ongoing concern. In fact, depending on
the actions the PCs take toward the end of
this scenario, the GM may wish to draw out
the final conflict so that it lasts longer, with
larger forces involved on both sides.
THE SPIDER KNIGHT
As part of her campaign to take Berenock,
she probably tries to obtain some kind of
flying craft or mounts so she doesn’t have
to rely on the niacali ferries. This goal might
lead her to try to plunder other nearby
locations for numenera discoveries. The
PCs could end up in a race against the
Spider Knight to find what there is to find,
leading into the scenarios Inside the Pyramid
or Please Help Us. Her desire to recruit Malevich, page 154
allies might likewise lead her to contact
the Mallah in Lost in the Swamp or travel to
Akkoris in Guilty!
Arachnid beast: level 4,
climb as level 8; bite also
carries poison that inflicts
4 points of Speed damage
(ignores Armor) if a
Might defense roll fails

PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
It’s easy to place the scenario anywhere,
but if the GM has no preference, place
it in Malevich, about 40 miles (64 km)
southeast of Yenth. Obviously, Berenock
is independent from Malevich, which is
possible only because so few people even
know the island exists.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for discovering the truth about the
situation and the viral detonation. If they
stop the Spider Knight or help her succeed
in her goal, award them 2 XP.
If the Spider Knight survives this
scenario, she will not stop in her attempts
to take control of Berenock. If she can’t
use the viral detonation, she continues
to raise her bandit army for an outright
invasion. This proves to be a bloody
conflict. Eventually, it escalates to
the point where her troops march
under a spider banner, and she
manages to find and train
gigantic arachnid beasts to
serve her as well.

35

Yovok, page 267
Horrik: level 4, attacks as
level 5; health 15; Armor 3
Nils: level 3; Armor 1;
has a blowgun and a
knife, both poisoned
with a toxin that causes
paralysis for three rounds
(he has three doses)
Tavarana: level 4,
influences others as level
5; Armor 2
Yeri: level 3, resists mental
attacks as level 4; can
scream to produce level 4
constructs of solid sound
(no larger than a 10-foot
cube) that she controls.
PLEASE HELP US
BRIEF SUMMARY
The PCs must decide whether or not to help
some people trapped in a strange structure
in the wilderness and, if so, how to set them
free.
DETAILS
The PCs come upon a group of people
trapped in a half-buried structure, begging
for help. The characters can question them
and discover that they fell afoul of some
kind of mechanism that trapped them in a
large cell like a canister. There seems to be
no immediate way to free these people, but
the trapped folk suggest that there might be
some kind of release mechanism nearby.
There is indeed a mechanism, found
within an ancient machine embedded in
a small rocky cliff in the woods. To get the
machine to produce the release mechanism,
it must be reconnected to a specific power
36
cell, which is also in the area. Complicating
things further, however, is the fact that
nearby yovoki use the machine as a shrine.
They consider it an idol, or even an avatar,
of their weird god.
If the PCs can get the release mechanism
and return to the trapped NPCs, all is well—
unless in their searching the characters
found the device the NPCs originally came
looking for. In this case, the freed people
will quickly become enemies to get that
device.
SALIENT POINTS:
• Some NPC explorers are caught in a
numenera trap and ask for help.
• To find a way to open the trap, the PCs
will have to search the wilderness.
• The machine in the wall holds the
release mechanism.
• There is a power cell that activates the
machine in the wall. It’s needed to get
the release mechanism.
• Yovoki abhumans live in the area.
• The abhumans worship the machine in
the wall.
STARTING POINT
The PCs are in the wilderness, preferably
a wooded area, when they hear shouts
for help. Not far away, they spot a small
metal structure half buried in the earth.
Through small openings in the structure,
they can see figures inside struggling to get
free. There are four people inside, dressed
as explorers, with a variety of common
weapons and gear, and perhaps a few
cyphers.

They can tell the PCs the following:
• They were wandering through the
woods, minding their own business
(lie—they were looking for the mind
mastery device).
• They investigated a plain panel of metal
on the ground, and it opened and
trapped them (truth).
• Their companion Nuemos is still in the
woods somewhere, but he is horribly
injured, mauled by a ravage bear (truth).
• They will give the PCs all their shins (32
in total) if the characters find a way to
free them. They are sure that there must
be a release mechanism somewhere.
They will not give the PCs anything
before being freed. (Half-truth—they
will give the shins, and they could be
convinced to give their cyphers as well,
but this is a level 5 task.)
Examining the canister/cell reveals:
• The holes through which the trapped
people speak are only about 3 inches (8
cm) across.
• The metal is level 8 and highly resistant
to physical force of any kind.
• An access panel has a receptacle for
some kind of key or similar device. Using
this panel to open the canister without
the release mechanism is a level 10 task.
Reveal Show ’Em I to the players.
THE WRAP-UP
If the PCs return to the cell and use the
release mechanism, they easily free the
NPCs. The trapped people are as follows.
Horrik has a heavy crossbow and a
sword-staff. He is a barrel-chested, square-
bearded, mostly honorable sort, although
he is full of bluster and bravado.
Nils is tall and wiry with a patch over one
eye and a mech arm. He has a blowgun
and a knife, both of which are poisoned. He
rarely speaks and trusts almost no one.
Tavarana is tall and striking, with flowing
robes covering her armor. She wields a
slugspitter artifact that inflicts 6 points of
damage at short range. The wise woman is
careful with her words, but she’s willing to
give orders or advice when needed.
PLEASE HELP US
Yeri is a short, pale white mutant. She Show ’Em I, page 76
is talkative but does whatever Tavarana
instructs. Entity: level 5; health
Overall, they are friendly and grateful if 20; Armor 2; magnetic
freed. However, if the PCs have the mind powers increase the
difficulty of attacks with
mastery KEY and the NPCs realize this, they metal weapons against
will do anything—including use force—to it by one step; can move
obtain it. and manipulate metal
Loot: The group has a total of 32 shins. objects of its size or
smaller at long range—
Each NPC has one random cypher. up to three objects at one
time as a single action
KEYS
This scenario has four keys:
The power cell that activates the machine in the wall.
A level 8 anoetic cypher that creates a powerful cutting
beam. The beam cuts through anything of its level or
lower, but it lasts only one round and is unwieldy. The
beam extends 10 feet (3 m), is 3 feet (1 m) wide, and
inflicts 10 points of damage if used as a weapon (the
difficulty of using it accurately in that way is increased by
two steps). It could be used to free the trapped people, but
it would certainly cause them great harm in the process—
there’s no way for it to cut a significant hole in the canister
cell and not strike at least two of the NPCs.
Something that, when activated, provides a beacon for an
ancient entity whose molecules were scattered. The entity
is drawn to the beacon and reconstitutes itself. This
process takes about four rounds.
The entity stands 8 feet (2 m) tall and appears to be
roughly humanoid, but with an opaque, multifaceted
crystal for a head and black synth cubes rather than
hands. It isn’t automatically hostile, and it can speak
virtually all languages, but if it is not immediately given
something to occupy its attention, it most likely begins
playing with (destroying) any and all metal objects the
PCs possess.
The mind mastery device. This level 9 occultic cypher can
control the actions of an entire mob. Once the device is
active, all thinking beings of the same species within long
range (as long as they are already in a similar mood and
mindset) can be given verbal suggestions, which they will
try to follow as if the user were a beloved leader. This lasts
for ten minutes, although the final suggestion can have
minor, longer-lasting (even permanent) effects if desired,
such as “Don’t trust the woman with the red hat.”
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the flow
of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the PCs
eight to ten cyphers.
37

NUEMOS
Nuemos (level 3, all numenera-related tasks as level 4;
Armor 1) is nearly unconscious, lying in a thicket, covered in
deep wounds from an earlier encounter with a ravage bear.
His companions left him here to rest while they continued
on. He doesn’t know they’ve been trapped.
If the PCs help him with healing of any kind, he recovers
enough to talk. He is generally friendly but very loyal to his
friends. He greets any opportunity to investigate or tinker
with numenera with enthusiasm.
Nuemos has a leather jerkin, a buzzer, and a wide variety of
tools. If Nuemos has a KEY, it is a crystal that serves as a
power cell.
GM Intrusion: The last time Nuemos was in a village, he
was given a description of a dangerous murderer, and the
character fits that description. Nuemos is very reluctant to
talk with the PCs until they convince him that he has made
a mistake.
THE RAVAGE BEAR
Cautious, stealthy travelers can move through the woods
without drawing the attention of the hunting ravage bear
and maybe avoid it if they wish. Others will be surprised as
it crashes through the brush to attack.
If the ravage bear has a KEY, it is a complex crystal device in
a nearby lair. The PCs might be able to find it by following
the creature’s tracks (a level 4 task). The lair is also filled
with bones.
GM Intrusion: Another ravage bear is in the lair, along with
two cubs. The cubs do not pose a threat, but the adult fights
viciously to defend its young. The difficulty of defending
against its attacks is increased by one step.

PCs’ Approach
Trapped Figures

THE LONE YOVOK

This yovok travels to the machine with a
sacrifice. If the PCs are stealthy as they move,
they might easily surprise the abhuman as it
hustles through the woods. Otherwise, it will do
its best to hide.
If the yovok has a KEY, it is a bundle of rods of
different lengths bound with wire along with a
cobbled control panel. If not, it has a random
cypher.
GM Intrusion: The yovok possesses a bound
bag filled with biting insects that it will hurl
1 mile
like a detonation. All within immediate range 1.6 km
of where the bag lands must make successful
Might defense rolls or suffer 1 point of ambient Yovoki Village
damage and lose their action coping with the
swarm of nasty bugs.
 PLEASE HELP US
THE SECOND CELL
This looks like a flat panel of metal covering
the ground. Anyone investigating it must
make a Speed defense roll as the panel opens
and wraps itself into a canisterlike shell half
embedded in the ground (exactly like the cell
holding the trapped NPCs). THE MACHINE IN THE WALL
Reveal Show ’Em J (page 76) to the players.
This is an ancient machine of twisting metal, crystal
shards, spinning cylinders, and clear tubes filled with
various liquids. The machine is mostly embedded in
the side of a cliff. Parts of it are concealed by brush
and plants that have grown up around and in front
of it over long periods of time. Piled on the ground
in front of the machine are bones, tools, and strange
feather-covered fetish sticks—crude offerings of
primitive creatures that worship the machine as a
god.
The machine is level 8, but if the PCs have the power
cell, the difficulty of attaching it and figuring out
how to get the release mechanism is reduced by two
steps. Once the machine is activated, it ejects a long-
handled device topped with a piece that will clearly
fit into the interface on the cylinder cell holding the
trapped NPCs. The machine actually does far more
than that, but it is nearly impossible for the PCs to
determine its full purpose.
If a KEY is here, it is a component that must be
removed from the machine. This is a level 7 task;
failure delivers an electrical jolt that inflicts 3 points
of ambient damage.
GM Intrusion: Messing around with the machine
results in the character being absorbed into it and
then ejected one minute later. The character is moved
one step down the damage track but has gained
a new random cybernetic component (treat as a
random mutation if desired).
GM Intrusion: Seven yovoki arrive and fight to defend
their shrine.

THE RUINED GENERATOR

Hidden by trees and plants, this metal and glass
dome stands 12 feet (4 m) high and 16 feet (5 m)
across. An opening like a triangular wedge removed
from the dome provides access to the interior, which
is filled with long-wrecked and corroded numenera
components. Any attempt to restore or reactivate
the old generator results in a burst of invisible, hot
radiation. All within short range must succeed on
a Might defense roll or move one step down the
damage track and break out in oozing sores.
If a KEY is here, it is a synth component that looks
a bit like a flat spoon with a short handle and a
transparent panel in the center of it.
Loot: Scavengers can recover 15 shins and a random
cypher.
THE YOVOKI BAND
This small band of eight abhumans comes from
a village inhabited by thirty yovoki. They are
on their way to pay homage to the idol of their
god, the machine in the wall. They are hostile
and attack any human they see, particularly
emboldened so close to their holy shrine.
If they have a KEY, it is two oddly shaped
crystals that must be fit together like puzzle
pieces to activate.
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 40 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
THE TRAPPED NPCs
The group of trapped NPCs is on a mission
for Baron Berrich Vordanal, a local noble,
to obtain the mind mastery device that he
somehow learned of. They are fiercely loyal
to the baron (to the point of death, in fact)
but are otherwise reasonable and pleasant
people. They don’t want to fight or even
cross characters who help them, but they
feel strongly compelled to follow the baron’s
orders.
Tavarana is the leader of the group,
although just barely so. Yeri and Horrik
follow her, although Horrik believes himself
to be the leader even as he does what
Tavarana suggests. Nils may be the weak
link of the group in more ways than one. If
someone is going to turn on the others, it
will be Nils—anything to save his own hide.
However, he’s also the most likely to turn
on the PCs even if they help, attacking them
out of distrust and fear.
Tavarana is in love with the baron and
hopes to win his favor by recovering the
device he wants. She knows that the
nobleman almost certainly wants to use the
mind mastery device to control his people,
many of whom hate him. The numenera
device can help him solidify his hold over
his fiefdom. Although Tavarana doesn’t fully
support that sort of action, she is blinded by
love, and the group is loyal enough to her
that they are likewise blinded—all except
Nils, who has been promised a nice sum by
the baron to work with the others.
Nuemos, Horrik’s younger brother,
also belongs to the group. He’s smitten
with Tavarana, but his obsession is the
numenera. When he was injured in an
encounter with the ravage bear, his
companions felt it too dangerous for him
to continue. Tavarana told him to keep still
and wait for them to return. Obviously, they
have not.
THE WILDERNESS
This whole area of the wilderness is filled
with the remains of an ancient structure.
Only bits and pieces of it have survived,
40
but they continue to cause problems
nonetheless.
THE YOVOKI
Further encounters with bands of yovoki are
likely. This area is their stomping grounds,
and they know it fairly well. Despite being
crude, vile little things, they are quite
intelligent.
The yovoki are wary because a ravage
bear or two have moved into the area
so close to their shrine. It is possible to
negotiate peacefully with the abhumans by
using the defeat of the dangerous animals
as a bargaining chip. The yovoki might
agree to leave the PCs alone or even help
them if they rid the area of ravage bears.
However, if the characters negotiate with
the abhumans, which may not be the best
strategy, the yovoki are very likely to betray
them later.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
Please Help Us is designed to be a random
encounter, used while the PCs make their
way through the wilderness on an unrelated
mission. This makes it very simple to drop
into a campaign anytime the characters
cross new territory.
An interesting way to do this is to insert
the scenario into the middle of a task that
is important to the PCs. Now the decision
to help the trapped NPCs takes on a new
dimension. Taking time out to help takes
time away from what the characters were
doing and may put additional pressure on
them.
However, if the GM wishes, the PCs’
mission could be to look for Tavarana and
her crew. Perhaps they were hired by Baron
Vordanal after his team did not return
with the device they were commissioned
to retrieve. Alternatively, the characters
could be sent to find the same device
while knowing that they race against a rival
group. What do they do when their rivals
are caught in a trap: laugh and move on, or
help them out?

PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
Designed to be adapted to any wilderness
where the PCs find themselves, Please Help
Us could be placed deep in the Westwood.
This location suggests that, in addition to
all else, the PCs might have to contend with
the culovas, which not only try to drive the
intruders out of their wood, but also might
try to kill those trapped in the cylinder cell.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for freeing the trapped NPCs one way
or another, and 2 XP for discovering the
machine in the wall.
Freed NPCs might become long-term allies
of the characters. Conversely, the PCs might
make a powerful enemy in Baron Vordanal if
they killed his agents or prevented him from
getting the mind mastery device. The baron
will stop at nothing to get what he wants,
and if the characters have the device, he will
send out a band of six level 3 thieves and
assassins with strict orders to kill them and
return with it. These agents all have the same
poison that Nils carries. (Nils, in fact, was
PLEASE HELP US
originally cut from the same shady cloth as
these dastardly thugs and killers for hire.)
If the NPC group is alive and well at the
end of this session, having the PCs run into
them again is a great idea. Maybe they show Westwood, page 137
up to repay the favor when the characters
Culova, page 236
are in a jam. On the other hand, if the PCs
made off with the mind mastery device, the
NPCs might be the agents sent after the
characters. Because of the debt they owe,
they might not be so quick to kill the PCs
outright, and instead just threaten them and
demand the item. Eventually, however, the
situation will likely turn to violence unless
the PCs can figure out a way to avoid it.
The characters’ further explorations of the
wilderness are almost certain to bring them
into conflict with the yovoki, particularly if
the PCs have defiled the abhumans’ shrine.
It’s also possible that ancient—and perhaps
damaged and perpetually confused (or even
insane)—automatons like disassemblers or Disassembler,
Oorgolian soldiers might be present in this page 238
region due to the fact that it was the site Oorgolian soldier,
of a numenera complex long ago. For the page 250
same reason, it’s likely that the area holds
more discoveries and numenera treasures
to be uncovered.
41
 GUILTY!

BRIEF SUMMARY for killing at all) but is defending the

Someone is murdering varjellen in a town
with a divided human/varjellen population.
If the killer isn’t found and stopped,
tensions will get worse and worse.
DETAILS
Tensions in the town of Akkoris are high
because someone—probably a human—is
Varjellen, page 121 murdering varjellen. The varjellen demand
justice, but if they can’t have that, they
want retribution. If the PCs are interested
in helping, they can speak with the head
constable, Bardan Frei.
Bardan has a suspect—a self-proclaimed
varjellen hater named Orellik with a
history of violence. However, Orellik has
disappeared. If the PCs want to help, they
can try to find him.
But Orellik is innocent. He knows that
he’s wanted for the murders and is now
hiding out. The actual killer is a sentient
mist named Nvrm. Nvrm has no special
predilection for killing varjellen (or, actually,
entrance to its lair, where it hopes to rest for
the next few millennia. It feels it must kill
anyone who might be aware of its lair, which
lies beneath Goodman’s Bridge connecting
the two parts of town: the varjellen part and
the human part.
Nvrm cannot abide sunlight and spends
its time in its dark lair or beneath the bridge
until nightfall, when it wanders around. If it
notices someone lingering too long on or
below the bridge, it murders them.
The PCs may start out by looking for
Orellik, but they’re likely to uncover
evidence of his innocence. And they may
find clues to the identity of the real killer,
eventually confronting Nvrm in (or just
outside) its lair.
SALIENT POINTS:
• Akkoris is a town with a human
population and a varjellen population,
although the two are mainly segregated
on two sides of a river.

THE MURDERS
There have been four murders so far.
Murder 1: Two months ago, a varjellen named Eelos was found dead on Goodman’s Bridge. It had been
suffocated. (Eelos saw Nvrm and startled the creature, which reacted with violence.)
Murder 2: The week following Eelos’s murder, the corpse of a missing varjellen named Faenouc turned up a
half mile downstream from Akkoris. Faenouc may have been killed before Eelos. It is difficult to tell, as is the
cause of death. (Faenouc was with Eelos when Nvrm attacked. They were murdered together.)
Murder 3: Three weeks ago, the body of Qualue was found beneath the bridge, although the condition of
the corpse suggests that it did not fall, but instead was strangled right there. The evidence suggests that both
the varjellen and the killer climbed down beneath the bridge. (Qualue saw something strange happening
under the bridge and climbed down to investigate, where Nvrm killed it.)
Murder 4: Two days ago, Yiaen was found dead on Goodman’s Bridge in a situation almost exactly like that of
the first murder. (Yiaen had figured it out and was looking for Nvrm, so the mist creature killed the varjellen.)

42

• Varjellen are being murdered, and it
is straining relationships between the
humans and varjellen in town.
• The main suspect is a man named
Orellik, well known for his hatred of
varjellen.
• Orellik is innocent.
• Although he conceals it, Orellik’s
arthritic condition has rendered his left
arm useless. This fact refutes most of
the evidence pointing at him, but he
doesn’t know that.
• The real killer is a sentient mist named
Nvrm.
• Nvrm is utterly alien and wants only to
protect the entrance to its lair under the
bridge as it prepares to hibernate.
• Nvrm cannot abide sunlight and acts
only at night.
STARTING POINT
Reveal Show ’Em K to the players.
The head constable, Bardan Frei, is a tall,
broad-shouldered man with a mustache.
He has his hands full keeping the peace
in town—particularly with the heightened
tensions—and little time to carry out
complicated criminal investigations. Thus,
he’s happy to allow the PCs to do some of
that work for him, although what he’s really
interested in is finding Orellik, whom he is
convinced is the culprit.
The PCs get the basic rundown of
everything that is known about the murders
so far. They’re also given the location of
Orellik’s home and a bit of information
about him. He works as a sword for hire,
GUILTY!
About a third of the
human residents of
Akkoris dislike varjellen
taking security guard jobs, caravan guard simply because they
are so different. These
jobs, and the like. He’s mean, remorseless,
humans do not trust the
and bloodthirsty. He frequently hangs out at visitants and find them
the Wayward Tavern, a rough bar frequented physically distasteful.
by criminals (this is a dead end—the bar Some varjellen feel that
way about humans, but
has no clues). the percentage is lower.
Last, the constable provides the names However, more and
and addresses of two witnesses for the more varjellen now fear
murders—Michen and Dara—both of humans in the town, for
obvious reasons.
whom provide evidence that Orellik is guilty.
THE WRAP-UP
If the PCs capture Orellik and bring him
to the constable, they’re rewarded with a
total of 20 shins for their trouble. However, Two of the encounters,
the Vengeful Varjellen
if they prove that he is not guilty, they get
and the Fifth Murder,
no reward (though Orellik and his mother occur whenever the GM
might be able to scrape together a small decides they do.
reward of 10 shins if pressed).
If the PCs reveal the real murderer,
Bardan Frei gives them the 20-shin reward. Show ’Em K, page 77
KEYS
This scenario has three keys:
Evidence that Orellik could not have been present at the
first murder.
Evidence that Orellik could not have managed to pull off
the third murder.
Evidence that Nvrm is the murderer.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs eight to ten cyphers.
43
 ORELLIK’S HOME
This is a simple house, poorly kept. Orellik lives here
alone but has not been here for days. The door’s lock
is broken. The house has nothing of value, but it has
plenty of clues that Orellik spends a good deal of
time with his aged mother, who lives nearby.
If the house is a KEY that helps prove Orellik’s
innocence, a very careful search (difficulty 5)
reveals a few receipts for caravan guard jobs that
he performed, including one from two months ago
suggesting that he was 30 miles away from Akkoris
the night of the first murder.
GM Intrusion: Orellik’s landlord shows up and
demands that the character leave, stating that she
has no right to be in the house.
Start
GOODMAN’S BRIDGE
The bridge is made of stone and is quite
old. The structure is a series of six arches
with a total of seven supports, all of which
extend down into the water, which is about
18 feet (5.5 m) deep near the middle (the
current is slow). All supports have a stone
“shelf” at about the waterline. The body
from the third murder was found on one of
these shelves.
A secret passage in the northern bridge
support is accessible via a pivoting stone
about 2.5 feet (1 m) above the narrow
shelf. Finding the passage with no clues of
its existence is a difficulty 7 task. Spending
too much time beneath the bridge or
discovering the passage is likely to draw
the unwanted attention of Nvrm, which
can seep around the edges of the stone.
ORELLIK’S MOTHER
Orellik’s mother (level 2) is a short, kindly old woman
who brews tea. She knows where her son is hiding
out and will reveal that if the PCs seem like the sort of
people who might help him (difficulty 4 task to prove
their goodwill under the circumstances).
If she is the KEY that provides evidence of Orellik’s
innocence, it is because she knows of her son’s
condition—his left arm is so wracked with arthritis that
he can barely move it. He could never climb up and
down the bridge, nor could he likely strangle anyone.
DARA
Dara (level 3) is a human female who
works as a laundress. The night of the first
murder, she saw a man running down the
street away from Goodman’s Bridge, and
her description fits that of Orellik.
If Dara is a KEY that helps prove Orellik’s
innocence, she mentions that the man
carried a large tool—a shovel or an axe—in
both hands. Orellik cannot use his left arm
at all, meaning that whomever Dara saw,
it wasn’t Orellik (and, in fact, it wasn’t the
murderer at all, but just a man going about
his business).
MICHEN
Michen (level 3), a burly, bearded man who
works as a stonecutter, saw a man who
could have been Orellik climbing up the
side of Goodman’s Bridge the night of the
third murder.
If Michen is a KEY that helps prove Orellik’s
innocence, and the PCs really grill him
about what he saw, he cracks and reveals
that he didn’t see anything. He just hates
Orellik. He’s still sincerely convinced that
Orellik is the murderer, however.
NVRM
Nvrm appears only if its lair is about to be discovered. Nvrm is a sentient mist
(level 4, Speed defense as level 5). It is immune to physical attacks except while
in the middle of strangling someone, in which case it takes on a semisolid state.
Nvrm attacks by getting into someone’s throat, strangling and choking from
within and without. Once it strikes, the victim must make a Might defense roll
every round or move one step down the damage track, if Nvrm uses its action to
continue to choke.
Nvrm is very smart but does not speak any language known today. If
communication can be established, it might be possible to reason with it, but
doing so is very challenging (difficulty 7).
GM Intrusion: (It’s very likely that this encounter takes place beneath the bridge.)
The character slips and falls into the river. Unless she succeeds on a difficulty 5
Speed-based task, she drops whatever she’s holding into the water, losing it to
the bottom.
 ORELLIK GUILTY!
Orellik (level 4; Armor 1) hides out in the back of a tavern called the
River’s Edge owned by an old mercenary buddy, Rollo (level 4, Speed
defense as level 5). Orellik is likely to bolt if confronted, possibly
leading to a chase through the streets and alleyways. He’ll also fight if
cornered, wielding a sword in his good hand.
Orellik is bald, scarred, and ugly. He is crude, vicious, and self-serving.
But he’s innocent of the crimes of which he has been accused.
As a KEY to show his innocence, during a physical confrontation
with Orellik, a PC notices that he doesn’t use his left arm. In a verbal
interaction, he might reveal that he was not in Akkoris at the time of
the first murder. And if it will clear him of suspicion, he reveals the
secret of his useless arm, although he fears it will also mean the end of
his career as a sword for hire.
GM Intrusion: Rollo moves in to defend Orellik or distract the PCs
while his friend gets away.

THE VENGEFUL VARJELLEN
Reveal Show ’Em L (page 77) to the players.
This encounter comes to the PCs, rather than the
other way around. When the GM feels it would
be best, an angry varjellen named Araios (level 4;
Armor 1) finds them. It is accompanied by a creature
it calls the Fuerall, a dangerous fur-covered beast
with multiple clawed limbs (level 4, Speed defense
as level 3 due to size; health 22; makes two attacks
as one action). Araios has discovered that the PCs
are looking for the murderer and demands that they
reveal the killer’s identity immediately so that it can
exact vengeance. If the characters do not comply,
it threatens to kill them and will try to carry out its
threat unless reasoned with or appeased. However,
Araios will not fight to the death.
NVRM’S LAIR
The secret passage beneath the
bridge leads down to a surprisingly
dry chamber below the river with
synth walls, floors, and ceiling.
Within it is a huge machine that
houses and powers Nvrm’s intellect.
Destroying it is the only way to
permanently kill the mist creature.
Loot: Scavengers can take apart the
machine and recover 34 shins, six
random cyphers, and an oddity (a
synth ball that rolls around on a flat
surface of its own accord).
THE VICTIMS
Most of the victims’ homes, families, and friends offer few clues to the
identity of the murderer, although finding and investigating them all
takes a lot of time.
If the victims offer a KEY to the identity of the real murderer, it comes
from the housemate of Yiaen, the fourth victim. The varjellen had been
staking out the bridge, hoping to catch the murderer. It kept seeing
a strange mist around the bridge and eventually believed that it was
some kind of creature that killed people. Yiaen told its housemate,
Uraesh (level 3), all its theories before its death. Uraesh is now afraid to
talk about it (difficulty 5 to get the information).
GM Intrusion: Even though Uraesh clearly has something to tell
the character, it refuses to do so until its resentment of humans is
overcome.
THE FIFTH MURDER
This encounter takes place when the GM feels it would be best,
preferably in the morning after the fifth murder (which happens at
night).
Another strangled victim is found near Goodman’s Bridge, but this
time it’s a human female, eventually identified as Margie Chanalas. She
was killed by Nvrm for lingering too long on the bridge (she was, in
fact, contemplating suicide by jumping off of it).
After this, Constable Frei seriously doubts that Orellik is the killer,
and the town is very confused, which heightens tensions rather than
decrease them.
IORTHALIN
An old man who frequently walks
along the river around sunrise,
Iorthalin saw Nvrm at the bridge the If you have time, read “More Details”
night of the fifth murder. Iorthalin on page 46 for information and ideas
walks stooped with a cane, has no to enhance this scenario.
teeth, and talks very slowly.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
AKKORIS
Akkoris is a town of about 7,000 humans
and 1,000 varjellen. The town’s leadership is
and always has been human—the varjellen
joined the community later and for the most
part are content to remain separate and
distinct.
Coshanla Tranor: level 3 The ruler of Akkoris is Coshanla Tranor,
the young daughter of the previous leader.
She is very intelligent but inexperienced
and, like about a third of the humans
in town, has a prejudice against
varjellen, considering them strange,
incomprehensible creatures.
The tensions in the town since the
murders began have divided the two
populations even more than usual. The
two peoples conduct little trade. They don’t
speak to each other. Most residents avoid
the bridges. A few altercations have broken
out, requiring the constables to intervene.
ARAIOS
Varjellen are known for their calm, almost
46
emotionless demeanor, but Araios is the
perfect example that such is not always
the case. It is determined to put an end
to the senseless killing and has decided
to use force to resolve the matter. Being
nonhuman, its approach likely seems a bit
off-kilter.
Araios is a respected hunter and tracker
in the varjellen community—an up-and-
coming leader amid its people.
NVRM
The entity known as Nvrm is a being that
may have been solid aeons ago. Its mind is
not so much stored within the machine in
its lair as sustained by the machine. Without
the mist cloud, Nvrm has no consciousness
until the machine can generate a new one,
which takes months.
THE INVESTIGATION
The PCs might follow up on apparent leads
that are not covered in this scenario. Such
leads yield nothing of value (unless you
decide, on the fly, to fit them in as one of
the KEYS). But dead ends are part of any
investigation and help pace the scenario.

The only risk is that the PCs get too bogged
down in such things.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
Using Guilty! in a campaign allows the
luxury of insinuating the PCs into the
situation slowly and more organically.
The characters come to Akkoris and are
occupied by other matters. All that time,
though, they hear about the murders and
sense the rising tensions. An old friend
and merchant in the town talks about how
business is being ruined by the fear and
distrust. Eventually, the PCs are drawn into
the investigation, but by that time they
know some of the people involved—the
witnesses, perhaps, or even the accused
Orellik. In fact, the conflict could be
heightened if the characters know and
dislike Orellik.
As a part of a larger campaign, this
scenario could be spread out a bit. The
hunt for the killer might hit a dead end, for
example, at which time the PCs get involved
with something else. Later, a new clue
appears and drags them back in.
GUILTY!
and it follows the same process—watching
for any locals that might be aware of its lair
and killing them. However, if many people
now know of its existence, Nvrm’s renewed
murder spree might be far more widespread
the second time around. The PCs might
need to return to help save Akkoris yet
again.
Even if the machine was destroyed,
an actual varjellen-hating maniac could
decide to rebuild it to “resurrect” Nvrm
so that the creature can resume killing
visitants. Of course, Nvrm begins killing,
but indiscriminately. To stop it this time,
the PCs must find or build a different
device that can penetrate a force field in
place around the machine. This leads to a
search for components, perhaps involving the
scenarios Inside the Pyramid or Please Help Us.
Pytharon Empire,
page 161

PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
Akkoris could be located almost anywhere,
but barring all other considerations, it lies
about 20 miles (32 km) south of Luigolamis
in the Pytharon Empire, on the Sadara River.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for exonerating Orellik and another 2
XP for discovering the true killer.
If Nvrm is exposed, the tensions between
humans and varjellen in Akkoris calm down,
and no one forgets that they have the PCs to
thank for that.
If the machine that sustains its mind is
left functioning, Nvrm will live again, and
hunting down the PCs in revenge is not out
of the question. More likely, however, the
creature once again prepares to hibernate,

47
 LOST IN THE
SWAMP
BRIEF SUMMARY Heading off into the mire, the PCs find
A child is lost in a dangerous swamp and the clues that lead them to a hunter named
PCs must find her—except that she’s not lost Cheosoph. He can inform them that Dariale is
at all, but involved with a strange cult. not “lost” in the swamp at all. If anything, she
is its master—or will be, if she can pass a trial
DETAILS held somewhere to the north called the Mire
Dariale was a precocious child at age 8. Sanctum. Cheosoph doesn’t know where it is
The Mallah are humans
By age 12, she would slip away from her exactly or what the trial involves, but he’s wary
born in the area
around the swamp, family’s farm and head into the wilds of of it, and perhaps even of Dariale.
where local conditions the nearby swamp for an entire afternoon When the PCs finally find the Mire
have been designed alone. Today, she is 14, and her most recent Sanctum, they find an organization called
to subtly alter their
genetics to control them
foray into the swamp has lasted three days. the Mallah. These are humans who have
with preprogrammed Her family is distraught, and when the PCs the essence of some past time imbued
instructions. happen by, they hear the tale of woe. within them, and now they carry out the

MALLAH
Occasionally, in the vicinity of a small swamp, a human is born with just the right traits to be affected by
the environment—breathing the air, drinking the water, eating the local plants and animals—and become
something more than a normal human. Apparently through some numenera process, creatures from the prior
worlds designed this effect so that they could create a legacy of preprogrammed individuals to carry out some
unfathomable plan.
The altered humans have banded together in the swamp at a site called the Mire Sanctum. They gather in
secret, reject traditional human associations, and call themselves the Mallah. People tend to think of them as
witches and sorcerers.
The Mallah are compelled to do things that they don’t understand. Sometimes it is a matter of tending
the Mire Sanctum, gathering plants or animals, or singing strange songs with words that no one (including
themselves) can understand. Sometimes it involves gathering strangely colored stones found throughout the
swamp. They also each have what seems to be a supernatural power. These abilities include:
• Charm Animals (always has a level 3 animal companion, can call another as an action every other round)
• Foresight (defense tasks as if two levels higher)
• Great Strength (related tasks as if two levels higher; deal 3 additional points of damage in melee)
• Mental Strike (short range, target suffers 2 points of Intellect damage that ignore Armor and cannot act for
one round)
• Out of Phase (move through solid objects, immune to non-energy attacks, cannot affect solid matter)
• Pyrokinesis (short range, target bursts into flame, taking 4 points of ambient damage per round until
extinguished)
• Sense Through Others (long range, use the senses of any other creature—not an action)
• Teleportation (long range, self only, usable each round as an action)

48

preordained wishes of creatures that lived
in the area millions of years ago. Dariale is
in the middle of a trial to see if she can join
their ranks. She doesn’t want to go home.
The PCs have to decide what to do next.
SALIENT POINTS:
• Dariale is 14 years old and has been
missing for three days.
• Dariale has wandered into the swamp
before.
• Cheosoph is a hunter in the swamp who
might have information about where
Dariale is.
• To find Dariale, the PCs must find a
place called the Mire Sanctum.
• The Mire Sanctum is home to a group
called the Mallah, who have special
powers and compulsions linked to a
past civilization that dwelled in the area.
• Dariale is attempting to join the Mallah
and has no desire to go home.
STARTING POINT
The PCs meet Kaldour and Nin (both level
3), the parents of Dariale. Kaldour is very
sick and struggling to provide food for his
family while Nin cares for their other three
children, all younger than Dariale. Nin is
distraught at the thought of losing her
oldest daughter, and the entire family is
suffering without Dariale to help her parents
care for and support everyone.
Kaldour is a trapper. He has a chronic
cough and old age is getting the better
of him. Nin is much younger and quite
capable, but there’s too much to do without
Dariale to help.
LOST IN THE SWAMP
THE WRAP-UP
Either the PCs convince (or force) Dariale
to come home, or they don’t. The trip out
of the swamp (with or without her) might
include an ambush of six Stratharian war Stratharian war
moths as a group GM intrusion, depending moth, page 261
on the pacing needs of the scenario.
If Dariale is reunited with her family, she
is left unfulfilled almost no matter what.
Her family, however, is grateful to the PCs
and rewards them with food, 12 shins,
and an anoetic cypher: a level 10 canister
of fireproofing spray (can be used on a
nonliving object, giving it +10 to Armor
against fire damage for 28 hours).
KEYS
This scenario has four keys:
A clue that leads the PCs to Cheosoph.
A clue that leads the PCs to the Mire Sanctum.
A plant that poisons a character with its spores, making
it impossible to breathe air—only water. A lungful
of water lasts for ten minutes. After that time, the
character moves one step down the damage track every
two minutes until he dies or he takes another lungful
of water (and breathing water moves him back up the
damage track).
An antidote for the poisonous spores.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does not,
it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on the
flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer the
PCs eight to ten cyphers.
49
 THE SLURPING PIT
This hazard is an area of ground about
20 feet (6 m) across that is really a
12-foot-deep (4 m) pit filled with peat
and sludge. A character walking into it or
even standing near it will get drawn into
its pull. Once caught, a character has five 1 mile
rounds to get out or she will be pulled into 1.6 km
the mire, at which point she will drown or
suffocate in another three rounds.
If the KEY leading to Cheosoph is here,
it is that the hunter shows up at the
pit to help trapped characters (see his
encounter for more info).
If this encounter offers the KEY that is a
poisonous plant, it is a white flowering
plant that grows around the pit and
floats freely on the surface of the water,
spraying spores even as characters are
sucked into the mire.

THE SEER
Nelusah (level 5) is a long-haired young
woman with wild eyes and a glowing
metal disk on her cheek. She wanders the
swamps collecting herbs and plants for
various concoctions she makes, some of
which are medicinal and some of which
are hokum. Her cabin is not far away.
Nelusah is welcoming and generous. She
has seen Dariale before but doesn’t know
where the girl is. If Nelusah has the KEY,
she will recommend talking to Cheosoph
and reveals where he can be found, but
probably only if the PCs trade a cypher for
some of her concoctions.

Kaldour and
Nin’s House

GIANT SERPENT
This creature (level 4) is 30 feet (9 m) long and has a head more
like a crocodile than a snake. Its venomous bite inflicts 3 points of
Speed damage as well as 4 points of Might damage. The creature
also exudes an odor that affects all within immediate distance.
Those failing a Might defense roll are caught up in a reverie that
precludes any action other than attempting a new Might defense
roll each round to shake it off. These characters are automatically
struck by the serpent’s bite if attacked.
If the serpent is the antidote KEY, one of its organs holds the
remedy, although determining this is a difficulty 4 task.
GM Intrusion: The serpent entwines the character in its coils,
making it impossible for the PC to move unless she uses an action
to attempt a Might-based task to get free.
GARGAROS
Gargaros (level 5, Speed defense as level 4 due to size and speed;
health 20; Armor 1) is a hulking humanoid with bulging muscles
covered in ritual scars. His first instinct is to attack, but it’s possible
to convince him to stop and talk—food is a powerful motivator for
him. He’s not smart and has a limited vocabulary, but the Mallah of
the Mire Sanctum consider him an ally, or at least a tool.
If Gargaros is the KEY leading to the Mire Sanctum, it’s because
his scars are a sort of map of the swamp, and the Mire Sanctum is
marked with a special symbol.
If this encounter offers the KEY that is a poisonous plant, it is a white
flowering plant that grows in the area where Gargaros is found.
GM Intrusion: In the middle of a peaceful interaction, something
unexpectedly enrages Gargaros, and he attacks.
 CHEOSOPH
Reveal Show ’Em M (page 78) to the players.
Mounted astride his giant, tentacled beast (level 4; Armor 1;
makes two attacks as one action), Cheosoph (level 4, attacks
with his crossbow as level 5; Armor 2) hunts the swamp. He
makes his living selling the hides and meat of the creatures he
bags to the surrounding villages.
He’s not automatically hostile, but he is extremely wary of
strangers in the swamp, and those asking after a young girl are
likely to increase his suspicions.
Cheosoph befriended Dariale long ago, and he knows that
she has gone off with the Mallah. He knows a little about
that group, considering them a strange cult of sorcerers and
witches. Dariale, he believes, is bewitched by them, but—if
the PCs really get on his good side—he might reveal that what
he fears is that she’s actually a witch herself. He doesn’t know
where the Mallah are, other than that they roam the eastern
portion of the swamp. Even if the PCs convince Cheosoph to go
with them, his fear of witchcraft will cause him to react violently
if they encounter the Mallah, and he will flee within two or three
rounds.
Loot: Cheosoph has two random cyphers and an oddity.
THE METAL TREE
Standing alone in a glade, a banyan tree of glistening white metal
radiates light as if it were on fire. The tree emits radiation that
restores vitality. Anyone making a recovery roll within immediate
distance of the tree gains double the normal number of points back.
However, a second recovery roll made in the same area results in
too much energy—the character does not recover any points, and in
fact takes 3 points of ambient damage.
A skeleton lies near the tree with the remnants of clothing and gear.
Two shins and a serviceable sword are near the corpse.
If the tree is the KEY to the Mire Sanctum, it comes in the form of a
map scrawled on dirty cloth in the skeleton’s pack, showing the way
to the location.
If the antidote KEY is here, it is in the form of an edible blue flower
that grows around the roots of the tree.
Loot: Three random cyphers and an oddity can be scavenged from
the tree, but only if the tree is destroyed.
LOST IN THE SWAMP
MALLAH GUARDIANS
The area around the Mire Sanctum is
well patrolled, and the PCs probably have
to deal with one of the groups. A patrol
consists of three Mallah (all level 3; Armor
1). Each of them has one of the following
powers:
• Pyrokinesis: short range, target bursts into
flame, taking 4 points of ambient damage
per round until extinguished
• Foresight: defense tasks as if two levels
higher; armed with a bow and an axe
• Mental Strike: short range, target suffers
2 points of Intellect damage that ignore
Armor and cannot act for one round
The Mallah will not permit outsiders to
reach the Mire Sanctum without the special
permission of their leader, Wittenash.
If they possess the antidote KEY, it is an
herbal powder they have in their packs.
Loot: Each guardian has a random cypher
and 4 shins.
MIRE SANCTUM
Reveal Show ’Em N (page 78) to the players.
In a swampy glade, a series of growths almost
like tentacles rise up around an altarlike stone
with a synth pipe extending out of it.
Six Mallah (all level 3) are here, conducting
a ritual trial to induct a new member—
Dariale. Using enhanced sensory abilities,
they know the PCs are coming (unless the
characters took extraordinary measures,
like approaching invisibly or teleporting in).
Also present is the Mallah leader, Wittenash
(level 5; Armor 3), a powerful man with long
hair and an eye tattoo on his forehead. His
Armor comes from a protective force field
around him at all times.
Dariale (level 2) is here, undergoing a ritual
to test her powers and nature. She doesn’t
want to go home. If the PCs want to return
her to her parents, they must interrupt the
ritual and steal her away or convince her to
come with them. Either way, the Mallah will
oppose the characters, although they don’t
want outright violence in the sanctum if
they can prevent it.
Convincing Dariale to leave is a level 5
task. If possible, the Mallah try to sway her
to stay, requiring that the PCs try again to
convince her, this time a level 6 task.
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 52 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
THE SWAMP
The swamp is lush and wet, filled with
biting insects, lizards, snakes, and birds of
all kinds. Bioluminescent insects of various
sizes are common, as are bioluminescent
fish swimming in the shallow waters, giving
the whole place an eerie glow despite the
tree canopy blocking sunlight.
NELUSAH
A self-proclaimed seer, Nelusah believes she
can see the future and brew magic potions.
Dramatic and confident, she sprinkles
enchanted powders and chants magic
spells wherever she goes. She does not take
mockery or intimidation well, and she can
defend herself quite capably if need be.
Nelusah is not one of the Mallah,
although she wishes she were. The Mallah
reject her, for she does not have their
hereditary manipulation.
CHEOSOPH
Cheosoph is afraid of magic and witchcraft,
so he avoids both Nelusah and the Mallah.
He’s a very capable hunter and quite self-
sufficient.
It’s likely that more tentacled creatures
like the beast he uses for a mount live in the
swamp. Capturing and training one as he
did is a task that requires a full year.
THE MALLAH
An order of witches and sorcerers, the
Mallah are individuals who have been
shaped by forces across the aeons for
reasons unknown. They do things they don’t
understand, but feel as though they are
guided by some sort of divine hand. Unlike
most humans, they believe, they are special.
Blessed, even. This sets them apart, as do
their “magical” gifts.
Although not inherently malicious, the
Mallah have no compunction against
killing or stealing from non-Mallah. Mainly,
however, they just want to be left alone.
Over the years, the Mallah have created a
vast array of rituals and dogmatic beliefs to
help explain their nature and situation. They
52
take these ceremonies very seriously. The
Mire Sanctum is sacred to them, although
they don’t know precisely why. They avoid
any kind of violence there if possible.
The Mire Sanctum’s strange features
(including the tentaclelike growths and the
synth pipe projecting from the stone) are
remnants of the same technologies that led
to the gifts and compulsions of the Mallah.
DARIALE
Explaining how much Dariale’s family needs
her is a good way to convince the girl to
leave the swamp and return home.
Dariale’s power is potent. The swamp
around her responds to her emotions.
When she’s sad, it rains. When she’s angry,
the wind blows and the animals nearby
become enraged. Most of the time, these
effects are merely cosmetic in the game,
but in the end, all events within long range
unfold as she desires. In other words, if
Dariale wants something to happen, the
difficulty of anyone attempting that task
is decreased by one step. If she doesn’t
want it to happen, the difficulty of that task
is increased by one step. For events that
don’t involve a conscious actor (such as
something blowing in the wind), assume
that things go her way unless they seem too
big to affect.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
Rather than the PCs just happening by,
Kaldour, Dariale’s father, might be an old
comrade of one of the characters. In this
case, his illness is the result of some prior
adventure gone wrong, and the PC owes
him a debt because of it. When Dariale
disappears, her father calls in the favor and
gets his friend to come help.
Alternatively, perhaps the Mallah draw
the PCs into the scenario. Having heard
about the mysterious “cult” and their
supposed connection to the prior worlds,
the characters seek them out, hoping to get
answers about an important issue related
to other campaign events. Only on their

approach to the swamp do the PCs hear
about the missing girl, and only later do
they find that the two missions are closely
related.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
This scenario is written from the perspective
that the (never named) swamp is a small,
innocuous mire that the GM can place
almost anywhere. But if the GM has no
preference, the swamp is located in the
Cape of the Maw in northern Ghan. It could
also be transplanted into the Caecilian
Jungle.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for finding Dariale (whether they get
her to come back or not), and 2 XP for
discovering at least something of the nature
of the Mallah.
Crossing the Mallah is dangerous.
Wittenash is a vengeful sort and will go
to great lengths to get Dariale back, get
revenge on any who tread into the Mire
LOST IN THE SWAMP
Sanctum, or both. A band of six Mallah
track down offending PCs a few days later.
Two of them carry cyphers that, when
thrown to the ground, cause a tendril-like
plant (a level 4 creature, precisely like those
seen in the Mire Sanctum) to grow and
attack all within immediate distance for
ten rounds. These vengeful Mallah don’t
worry about subtlety when trying to kill the
PCs. They are unafraid to make their attack
anywhere—even in the middle of a busy
town square if that’s where their targets
happen to be. Sea Kingdom of
Dariale will never be happy back at home, Ghan, page 145
the tug of her destiny (her genetically Caecilian Jungle,
modified programming) too strong to page 181
resist. Soon, she will likely run off again to
join her people. However, if she stays in
(or returns to) the Mire Sanctum, she will
find it hard to distance herself from other
humans the way other Mallah have, for her
family is always in her thoughts. If the PCs
encounter her again, they will find in her
either a potential ally among the Mallah or
a dissatisfied, resentful girl among normal
humans.
53

Dirus, with a population
of fewer than two hundred
people, is probably located
in a wooded area in
the Steadfast, but any
forested wilderness will do.
MOTHER
MACHINE
BRIEF SUMMARY
The PCs must locate and shut down a
machine spawning dangerous creatures
that are threatening the lives of settlers in a
forested wilderness.
DETAILS
The PCs witness an attack by a horrible
creature on a fellow traveler on the outskirts
of the village of Dirus. If the characters
intervene, they likely save the traveler’s
life. The survivor, Radan Sheb, explains
how awful creatures have been attacking
and killing people in the area. The PCs
soon learn that everyone in Dirus is in a
heightened state of fright and agitation. If
the characters offer to help, Elder Brall (the
village’s leader) promises them a reward—
Dirus has a supply of cyphers that Brall is
happy to let the PCs look through if they
succeed.
54
If the characters investigate, they
assemble clues (some obvious, some
subtle) that lead them to a clearing in
the wilderness where Mother Machine
is located. There, the PCs can attempt to
decommission the sentient numenera
mechanism or follow up on some of the
more subtle clues and try to talk to the
machine. If they destroy the machine,
the attacks on the villagers stop. If they
successfully negotiate with it, the PCs learn
something that turns what they thought
they knew on its head.
The Real Story: A race of outlaw entities
known as the cinomar are experts at
avoiding detection by humans. Their
method of staying hidden is devious: they
replace victims with cinomar duplicates.
Mother Machine, a protective device from
the prior worlds, learned of the cinomar
infestation in the wilderness near Dirus.
 MOTHER MACHINE
She is attempting to stop it by fashioning THE WRAP-UP
custom biological creatures called tarza to If the PCs confront Mother Machine and
hunt down and kill cinomar. The tarza have deal with her without learning the deeper
a sixth sense when it comes to tracking truth, the adventure is a wrap. Things return
Show ’Em O, page 79
down cinomar duplicates. to “normal” in Dirus (and the cinomar
For their part, the duplicates do not secret remains safe).
immediately realize they’ve been specifically If the PCs learn the truth about Mother Radan Sheb: level 4;
melee tongue lash attack
targeted by the tarza. When the scenario Machine, they can choose to return to deals poison damage;
begins, the cinomar believe that everyone in town and eliminate the cinomar duplicates attacks only if attacked
Dirus is equally at risk from the “monsters.” that remain, possibly with the aid of the or revealed as a cinomar
duplicate
scanning KEY and tarza lent to them
SALIENT POINTS: by Mother Machine. Alternatively, the Tarza: level 4; health
• Dirus is a village that sees little traffic, as characters can leave Mother Machine to her 18; Armor 1; short-range
it is not on any major trading routes. task. psychic attack deals 3
points of damage and
• The inhabitants of Dirus are afraid ignores Armor; tentacle
for their lives, fearing attacks from attack deals 5 points of
nightmarish creatures called tarza. damage and holds target
• The tarza are constructs of Mother immobile until target
succeeds on a Might-
Machine. based roll to break free;
• The tarza won’t directly attack the PCs victims who are cinomar
or anyone else who is not a cinomar duplicates are injected
with poison that causes
duplicate; however, if attacked by the
eventual coma and death
characters, the tarza will fight back. unless treated; detonates
• At first, the duplicate cinomar when killed, inflicting
inhabitants of Dirus do not realize that 4 points of damage
to all creatures within
the tarza are specifically targeting them. immediate range
• The PCs can conclude the adventure—
and apparently defeat the threat—
without ever learning the real story
about the tarza, the cinomar, and
Mother Machine. KEYS
This scenario has three keys, two of which are probably sources
STARTING POINT of information, and one of which is probably an object. Only
Reveal Show ’Em O to the players. the first key is required for the PCs to achieve “success” in
finding and defeating Mother Machine.
The PCs are traveling in the forested
wilderness near Dirus. Either a few days Knowledge of (or some kind of map describing) the
beforehand or near the outskirts of Dirus, location of Mother Machine’s clearing.
they meet a fellow traveler named Radan
Sheb. As the PCs and Radan draw near the Knowledge that the tarza are selective in picking their
rough wooden walls of Dirus, a tarza bursts victims. (Knowing why they’re selective isn’t necessarily
from the trees and attacks. If the characters part of this key.)
leave it alone, the tarza attacks Radan; if
they attack it, the tarza attacks them in Something that can scan living creatures, revealing
return (which means that if the PCs gain a telltale blue glow in certain cases. Only cinomar
initiative, Radan may never come under duplicates glow blue in the scan, but that may not be
direct attack). clear at first.
If the PCs are interested in helping out,
they can speak at further length with Radan or If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does
Elder Brall (the village leader), who both have not, it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on
thoughts regarding the nature of the attacks the flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer
and what might be done to stop them. the PCs approximately six to eight cyphers.

55
 DIRUS
A rough wooden stockade surrounds Dirus,
which sits within a forest of trees and hilly
terrain. Most residents are trappers, hunters,
and gatherers. A small tradehouse in town offers
rooms to travelers, food, and a place for visitors
looking to buy furs and other needful things.

ELDER BRALL
Elder Brall (level 3, tasks related to leadership as level 5) is drawn to any
commotion in town, and she may find the PCs even if they don’t come looking for
her. Silver haired, 6 feet (2 m) tall, slender, dignified, and not a cinomar duplicate,
she doesn’t know anything about the cinomar. She does know that the tarza are a
problem that need to be dealt with.
If Elder Brall possesses the KEY that is knowledge about the tarza, it’s only a theory
she’s developed. She guesses that some people just have tastier blood than others,
the same way that some people draw more biting insects.
If she possesses the KEY that can scan creatures, it’s a device like a square piece of
transparent synth. She salvaged it from the corpse of a defeated tarza and gives it
to the PCs. She doesn’t know for sure what it does.
If Brall has no KEYS, she’s still helpful. She offers the PCs a reward if they help and
tells them to speak with the Leblan widow, who lost her husband to the tarza, or to
visit a site outside of town where a tarza was defeated.
GM Intrusion: If the PCs interact with Elder Brall a second time after at least a
day has passed, and after they’ve learned of the cinomar problem, she has been
replaced with a duplicate in the meantime.

RADAN SHEB
Radan Sheb is a trader who lives alone in Dirus.
He is apparently in his twenties, charming, and
dark haired, and he has a way with words.
If Radan has the KEY, it’s not something he
consciously knows. It’s only revealed through
questioning by the characters. The KEY is
actually an unwelcome revelation to Radan,
which perceptive PCs might note: “This isn’t the
first time I’ve been attacked. A week ago, a tarza
burst from the trees, completely ignoring Galken
Cutter to go for me . . . wait . . .” If the PCs press
the issue, he says he doesn’t know why he’d be
selectively chosen.
If Radan doesn’t have the KEY, he doesn’t make HADORM
the connection that the tarza are targeting Hadorm (level 5; melee tongue lash attack
cinomar duplicates, and instead offers to deals poison damage; attacks only if attacked or
accompany the PCs to help deal with the revealed as a cinomar duplicate) liked to keep to
problem. He suggests that the characters talk to himself even before he was replaced; now he’s a
Elder Brall, who probably knows more, or maybe cinomar duplicate. He’s older, short, and slightly
Galken Cutter, who was also attacked. flabby. If Hadorm has a KEY, he reveals it only
GM Intrusion: Radan was poisoned in the under extreme duress. Otherwise, he doesn’t
Starting Point tarza attack (no one realized it answer any of the PCs’ questions, telling them to
at the time) and passes out. Unless someone stop bothering him.
makes a successful difficulty 4 Intellect-based GM Intrusion: If Hadorm thinks the PCs are on
roll to heal him, he lapses into a coma and dies. to him, he suddenly attacks them with his lashing
tongue.

SITE OF TARZA DEFEAT
The PCs likely defeated a tarza when the adventure started; however,
they didn’t learn anything from investigating the aftermath of its
defeat. For some reason, the tarza that Galken Cutter defeated about
a half mile north of town malfunctioned and didn’t blow up. If the PCs
look over the corpse and attempt to salvage numenera, they might
find devices that serve as the KEYS. Even if the corpse possesses no
KEYS, the characters can still salvage three cyphers from it.
GM Intrusion: If Radan Sheb is with the PCs, another tarza attacks;
otherwise, the salvaging finally causes the dead tarza to explode (a level
4 attack), inflicting 4 points of damage to all within immediate range.
LEBLAN WIDOW
Nowa Leblan (level 2) is old and wiry, beset with grief at the loss of her
trapper husband, Tarn Leblan. If questioned about Tarn, she describes
how lately—just before he was killed—he never seemed to need much
sleep and was much calmer than his usual ornery self. (She doesn’t
know that Tarn had been replaced with a cinomar duplicate.) His
body was never recovered. If she has a KEY, it’s in the form of vague
directions to where her husband used to like to trap: “in a clearing half
a day’s hike east of Dirus; follow the crick upslope.”
If Nowa doesn’t have a KEY, she tells the PCs they should talk to
Hadorm, who keeps a large garden on the south edge of Dirus. She
says Tarn and Hadorm had become close friends recently, and maybe
he knows something.
GM Intrusion: If one of the PCs says anything that could possibly be
construed as a slight against Tarn, Nowa clams up and won’t talk
until mollified.
GALKEN CUTTER
Galken (level 5) is a tough old hunter with no
hair and a huge nose. He is cantankerous and
not happy with company. He’s not a cinomar
duplicate and has no KEYS.
However, he was instrumental when a tarza was
killed north of town, and he will give the PCs
directions to where he left the corpse, telling them
to check the body themselves if they’re so curious.
GM Intrusion: Galken is not home; he’s off
hunting in the wilderness. Tracking him down is a
difficulty 4 Intellect-based task.
MOTHER MACHINE
MOTHER MACHINE
Reveal Show ’Em P (page 79) to the players.
If the PCs approach the clearing east of Dirus,
they hear strange gurgling noises and are just in
time to view Mother Machine disgorge a wriggling
cocoon, from which emerges another tarza. If
attacked, Mother Machine (level 5, Speed defense
as level 2 because of near-immobility; Armor
3; long-range psychic attack deals 4 points of
Intellect damage) and the tarza she just birthed
defend themselves.
If the PCs attempt to negotiate, opening
communication is a difficulty 3 task. But if they
are successful, Mother Machine describes (via
a tarza) what she was made for: eliminating
the cinomar infestation. She gives the PCs a
numenera device that serves as the scanning
KEY and asks them to help her track down and
eliminate the infestation—or, failing that, to let
her get back to her task without interference.
GALKEN GONE HUNTING
If the PCs didn’t encounter Galken (level 5) in
Dirus, they could try to track him down in the
wilderness (a difficulty 4 Intellect-based task).
Unlike in town, he might now have a KEY, having
recently run across something fairly terrifying
(Mother Machine) in a clearing several miles east
of Dirus.
GM Intrusion: If Radan Sheb is with the PCs, he
arranges for an accident to befall Galken Cutter.
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 58 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
THE TRUTH
If the PCs never learn about the duplicates,
that’s all right. The adventure becomes a
straightforward creature hunt, and that’s
satisfying. If the PCs do learn the truth, but
only after an extended period of play, the
revelation could make a good cliffhanger
to end the session on. If you wish, you
can pick up the story again in a future
session if the characters want to mop up
the infestation, making use of the previous
material plus information provided here and
in Further Development. Or you can wrap
up “offscreen,” letting the PCs know that
thanks to their efforts, the infestation was
stemmed.
58
CINOMAR DUPLICATION
Each cinomar duplicate exactly resembles
the person it has replaced, so even relatives
and spouses are fooled (though people
closest to the replaced victim note minor
personality shifts). Cinomar spread when
an active duplicate attacks a sleeping or
otherwise helpless humanoid victim with a
lashing tongue, which also implants a small
egg in the wound. The egg is a packet of
cinomar nervous tissue, which takes root
and replaces the victim’s tissue over the
course of fourteen to twenty-eight hours.
When mature, a dormant cinomar mind
wakes in the victim and the duplication
is complete, which means there is no
additional body of the original victim to
find.
MOTHER MACHINE
Mother Machine is part of a prior-world
security system activated by the cinomar’s
arrival. In fact, the mechanism in the
forest clearing isn’t Mother Machine
Prime, but only an instance of her that was
recently built by nanobots. That instance
is dedicated to locating cinomar and
destroying them with tarza. But Mother
Machine Prime, whatever and wherever that
is, has wider concerns, many of which are
incomprehensible to humans. In this case,
those concerns happened to align.
TARZA
Tarza (see the stats on page 55) are built
specifically to destroy cinomar duplicates.
Their poison affects only the duplicates. A
poisoned cinomar usually resists the toxin
for hours or days before suddenly collapsing
in a coma and dying of high fever (unless
treated). It’s possible that the alien nerve
fiber could be burned out of a duplicate,
thereby restoring the original victim.
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
Instead of merely wandering by, the PCs
might be in the area because they’ve been

exploring an extensive set of prior-world
ruins. Either their investigations lead to the
cinomar infestation, or they find evidence
of the cinomar awakening in the ruins and
follow a trail of tarza destruction to Dirus.
PRIOR-WORLD RUINS
A series of ruins lies not far from Dirus,
which some of the trappers and hunters
probably know about. The ruins contain
the numenera, and explorers might find
cyphers, oddities, and perhaps artifacts.
But farther in and deeper down, the ruins
also contain vessels of cinomar eggs, as
well as cinomar duplicates that are not
humanoid at all but completely alien in
form. It’s possible that the cinomar are a
viral vector responsible for bringing one of
those prior civilizations down, or maybe
they’re just a strange experiment lost to
time. They’re dangerous either way.
GM Intrusion: A cinomar duplicate
in the body of a callerail (level 7) bursts
through a containment wall and attacks
a PC. In addition to the abilities noted for
the callerail, the creature also has a lashing
tongue attack able to implant cinomar eggs.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
This scenario is suitable in any location that
includes a tract of woods big enough to
require at least a few days of travel to cross.
However, Mother Machine is particularly
suited to the Westwood, a vast, lush, and
verdant forest that dominates the coastline
of Navarene. It’s known for ancient
redwoods that stretch taller than any other
trees in the Steadfast.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for finding Mother Machine. Each PC
should earn a further 2 XP if they learn the
truth of Mother Machine’s presence, and
perhaps another 1 XP each if they actively
help her clear out the infestation in and
around Dirus.
If the PCs learn about the cinomar
duplication, especially in conjunction with
gaining the KEY that scans creatures,
MOTHER MACHINE
they may decide to be thorough and scan
everyone in Dirus. If they do so, in addition
to the duplicates already described, they
uncover two more instances of cinomar
infestation.
ADRAN’S HOUSE
No one answers the door, but Adran, a Adran: level 4; melee
strapping man in his forties with sandy tongue lash attack deals
poison damage; attacks
gray hair, is found unconscious on the only if revealed as a
floor of the main room. When first scanned cinomar duplicate
with the device, readings are inconclusive.
That’s because he is still in the process of
changing—he was injected with a cinomar
egg several hours earlier, and the foreign
nervous tissue is still spreading inside
him. In an hour or two, if given the chance,
Adran will wake up as a cinomar duplicate.
Quick thinking by the PCs and specialized
skills or items might be enough to reverse
the change. If they save Adran, award each
character 1 XP.
GM Intrusion: Adran unexpectedly wakes Callerail, page 234
while a PC is trying to heal him and goes for
a stranglehold on that character.
ERRON FAMILY HOUSE
The four members of the Erron family
(mother, father, and two brawny sons) are
all cinomar duplicates. If the PCs come
knocking with the KEY that scans creatures,
all the Errons attack at once.
GM Intrusion: A PC attacked by a tongue
lash is implanted with a cinomar egg and
faces a duplication event in her own body. Westwood,
page 137
59
 FROM HERE TO
SANGUINITY
BRIEF SUMMARY
The PCs encounter a priest who asks for
their help in rebuilding a religious altar and
rescuing two fellow priests.
DETAILS
The PCs come upon a woman named Rodia
perched on the edge of a cliff, frantically
attempting to rebuild a strange device,
which she calls the Altar of the Sanguine.
Rodia and two men named Tesir and Molan
are the priests of their respective villages,
and every year the three of them separately
make the long trek to meet here to worship
Sanguinity, hoping to keep their villages safe
and prosperous. As part of the ceremony,
their god pulls them through the device to
the nearby butte, where they perform rituals
of thanks and sacrifice.
Sanguinity is a giant creature that seems
to be made of or covered in crimson
bubbles. It lives at the bottom of a large pit
in the middle of the butte.
This year, when Rodia arrived, she found
Tesir’s and Molan’s belongings but no
priests, and she discovered the altar was
damaged and missing two pieces. Typically,
she and the other priests can communicate
with each other using telepathic devices
when they are within a mile of Sanguinity,
but she hasn’t been able to reach them.
Rodia believes they might have started
the ceremony without her for some reason,
and now that the altar is damaged, they
cannot find their way back. She asks the PCs
for help repairing the altar and retrieving the
priests.
The PCs can follow the trail to recover the
missing pieces of the altar so that Rodia
60
can repair the device. They can also perform
the ritual with her and travel to the butte;
however, she says they must find and bring
their own object to sacrifice to the god.
THE REAL STORY
Although Rodia doesn’t know it, the altar
is a device that acts as both a teleportation
device and a telepathic conduit. Once it is
repaired, it will allow everyone within the
area to hear each other’s thoughts, and it
will open the way for them to teleport to
Sanguinity.
Sanguinity is not at all what the priests
believe it to be. Rather, the god they have
been worshipping for so long is an ootheca
full of eggs that have been incubating for
centuries and have just now hatched. While
the eggs were mostly dormant, their
telepathic and teleportation powers were
limited. Now that the hatchlings are free
and hungry, their telepathic pull is strong
enough that the creatures in the area heard
their call for food and attempted to respond
to it, most likely destroying the device in the
process.
SALIENT POINTS:
• A priest named Rodia needs help
repairing a numenera device that she
calls the Altar of the Sanguine, and then
rescuing her fellow priests.
• To find the missing pieces of the altar,
the PCs will have to follow clues left by
the creatures that destroyed it.
• Once the device is repaired, if the
PCs have a sacrificial object, they can
perform the ritual and go with Rodia to
try to retrieve the priests.

• The “god” they have been worshipping
is actually an ootheca full of eggs that
have just begun to hatch.
• The priests are being held captive by the
creatures hatching from the eggs, and
the PCs must find a way to free them.
STARTING POINT
The PCs are in a dry desert area with lots
of crags and buttes. They may hear an odd
noise and follow it, or they may just come
upon a woman working frantically on a
numenera device along the edge of a cliff.
Spread out before them, the land dips away
into a few buttes and large, deep sinkholes
that dot the landscape. Big, long-winged
birds fly overhead and below.
The woman is dressed in a silver suit
and lots of gear that seems conducive to
desert traveling, and it’s clear that she’s
experienced with the device she’s working
on.
Her name is Rodia and she tells the PCs
the following:
• She is a priest of a village, and she
and two other priests named Tesir
and Molan make long treks from their
respective villages to meet here every
year. They come to worship Sanguinity
and offer sacrifices to keep their villages
safe and prosperous.
• They perform a complex ceremony using
a device, which she calls the Altar of the
Sanguine, allowing their god to hear
them and transport them to a nearby
butte, where their god lives.
• Her god is a giant creature that seems
to be made of or covered in crimson
bubbles. It lives at the bottom of a large
pit in the middle of the butte.
• This year, when she arrived, she found
the equipment of the other two priests
strewn about and the altar damaged.
She believes they might have started the
ritual without her, although she doesn’t
know why, and that now they cannot
return.
• She has mostly been able to repair the
altar, but it requires additional work, and
two pieces are still missing.
FROM HERE TO SANGUINITY
• If the PCs agree to help her, she will
happily include them in her ritual so
that they can also worship and receive
Sanguinity’s blessing of safety and
prosperity.
Examining the area nearby reveals the
following.
• A trail of silver circles in the dirt that
look like metallic drops of blood lead
away from the edge of the cliff.
• A series of large, three-toed footprints
lead toward the device and then away.
• If the PCs talk and search for more than
ten minutes, they likely hear a terrible
howl, a bellowing sound that seems to
make their very bones shudder.
• Large colonies of long-winged, long-
beaked birds constantly circle overhead
and down below.
THE WRAP-UP
PCs who find the missing pieces of the Rodia: level 3, repairing
device discover that Rodia can quickly repair and using the numenera
as level 5; Armor 2
the altar and go to find the other priests.
If the PCs decide not to accompany her,
they can say farewell to Rodia, who gives
them two random cyphers in thanks for
their assistance.
If they do go with her, they can attempt to
rescue Tesir and Molan. One priest is under
the power of the brood, and the other has
been thrown to the hatchlings for food.
KEYS
This scenario has three keys, all of which are objects.
The part of the device that signals Sanguinity, allowing
the god to “hear” the priests as they worship at the altar.
The second of two power sources for the device.
Something for the PCs to offer Sanguinity as a sacrifice.
The item can be made of any material, dead or alive, but
must be round(ish), bright red, and at least the size of a
human head.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does
not, it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on
the flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer
the PCs eight to ten cyphers.
61
Rodia and Altar
Starting Point
KNOSIAN CAVERN
Knosian Cavern is more of a hole in the side of a cliff than an actual
cavern. If the PCs follow the metallic path of droplets, it leads them
here. Inside the hole, the trail of drops is thicker and more regular.
The hole is square, about 3 feet by 3 feet (1 m by 1 m), and goes about
4 feet (1.2 m) deep before it opens into a dark, round room that is
only slightly larger than the hole. Inside, a small metallic creature—1
foot (0.3 m) high and about half that in diameter—appears to be
melting. Long streams of metal drip from it, and it almost sounds as
if it’s panting. Attempts to communicate with the creature fail, and it
doesn’t attack or even move if approached.
If the cavern holds a KEY, it’s a large round plate of red metal that
appears to be stuck to the creature’s side, as if it tried to use the plate
to patch that part of its body together. Removing the KEY intact is
a level 3 task. The creature is small enough that the characters may
decide to take it with them. Repairing it is a level 6 task, requires
someone with cold or ice skills or equipment, and takes about an
hour. If the creature is repaired, it will follow the characters around,
repeating random things that it mishears them say.

THE INJURED YOLPEN

CADENTA NEST
As the PCs follow the drops and spatters away from
the cliff, they may notice the occasional incandescent
purple and blue feather floating in the air. Upon
searching the ground nearby, they uncover a well-
camouflaged cadenta nest half buried in the ground.
If they disturb the nest, a pair of long-winged, long-
billed cadentas (level 3, Speed defense as level 4 due
to speed) swoops down.
If the nest holds a KEY, it is a fist-sized, shiny green
device that appears to shake and rattle of its own
accord.
GM Intrusion: As the PCs are taking or holding the
KEY, a cadenta flies in and grabs at it. The character
must make a Speed defense roll to hold onto the
KEY. Regardless, the cadenta continues to attack.
PCs will likely hear the yolpen’s terrible howl long
before they see it. If they follow the sound, they
will find, in one of the area’s few copses of trees, a
large, six-legged elephantine creature lying on its
side. Although the yolpen (level 5; Armor 2) might
attempt to attack the PCs to protect itself, it’s clear
at a glance that the creature is in terrible pain due to
something lodged deep in the pad of its foot.
Yolpens can speak a pidgin version of the Truth, and
if the PCs attempt to communicate with it, it asks
them to remove the object from its foot (a level 3
task) and promises not to harm them.
If the yolpen has a KEY, it is the object they remove—
a round rod made of metal with a crescent-shaped
piece attached to the top of it. Alternatively, if the
PCs kill the yolpen, the creature’s red heart is large
enough that it could be offered as a sacrifice.
GM Intrusion: As the PCs are attempting to remove
the device, the yolpen accidentally lashes out at the
character due to pain.
 FROM HERE TO SANGUINITY
MAN OR BEAST
The characters may happen upon a tall, wiry man named Altin (or
he may attempt to ambush them and steal their supplies). Altin
(level 3; Armor 2) has been alone in the desert for a long time and
has lost much of his humanity, turning to brutality and thievery to
satisfy his basic needs. Even his ability to communicate is limited.
However, if given something useful or even shiny, he might offer
information, although how true or useful it is might be difficult to
discern.
Things he might divulge include the following.
• The “talking stick” at the top of the butte is dangerous; that’s why
all the big beasts attacked it and why he has stayed away, even
though he believes he’d find food and supplies up there.
• He has a metal friend named Vern who follows him around but
who must be invisible because he hasn’t seen the little guy lately.
If the PCs have fixed Vern (the metallic creature from the cavern)
and brought it along, Altin is so delighted to see his friend that he
will not attack them and will do his best to help.
• He has seen six humans “go blue” and not come back.
If the man has a KEY, it is a large red pack stuffed with items
that he has scavenged and stolen. Inside the pack is a small blue
saucer with holes drilled in it, which could be another KEY.
Loot: The pack is mostly full of junk, but it also contains two
FED TO THE BROOD
Reveal Show ’Em R (page 80) to the players.
random cyphers, 5 shins, and a 50-foot (15 m) ball of synth cable
that sticks only to itself. If the PCs travel through the device, they arrive on the far
butte, which is bare except for a floating stone structure.
Beneath this structure, in a deep indent in the ground, the
hatchlings lie in wait. There appear to be thousands of the
creatures, some still in the process of hatching, others not
yet hatched.
In the pit with them are at least two bodies that have been
stripped of flesh, and Molan (level 3), who appears to be
still alive.
The PCs also find Tesir (level 3; Armor 1), who is clearly
under the power of the brood’s telepathy. There are signs
THE ALTAR OF THE SANGUINE of a struggle, and it seems clear that Tesir stripped Molan
Reveal Show ’Em Q (page 80) to the players. of his clothes, tied his arms and legs, and tossed him into
Once the missing pieces are returned to Rodia, she quickly the pit to be eaten. Tesir ambushes the incoming PCs,
completes the device (a level 5 task). In that moment, both the attempting to do the same to them.
teleportation and telepathic abilities of Sanguinity start to return. Here, the brood’s telepathic call urges listeners to feed
Any PCs with telepathic abilities will likely hear it first—a soft, it by whatever means necessary (level 4 Intellect defense
sing-song voice. The call urges the characters to come to it, and task to resist). Overriding the brood’s existing mental hold
those who can’t might start to feel antsy and anxious. Resisting on a PC is a difficulty 4 Intellect-based task.
the telepathic call is a level 3 task. Once a character resists, he is
The hatchlings attack, biting and clawing the skin from
immune until he goes through the device. Rodia is also immune
their prey (level 3, mental control as level 5, Speed defense
to the call. In fact, she can’t hear it at all and may be confused
as level 4 due to size).
about what the PCs are experiencing.
Rodia, though immune to the brood’s call, is probably so
The ritual that Rodia performs requires her to hold the device
shocked to discover that her god is something else entirely
with both hands and move it in a complicated pattern while
that she might not be much help to the PCs, at least for
uttering a few words in a tongue that is unknown to the PCs.
the first few minutes.
Then she clicks the two pieces together three times, and the
device comes to life. If the PCs go back through the device without subduing
the brood, it’s likely that upon their return to the original
She offers to send the PCs through one at a time, and then follow.
butte, they will encounter any creatures still being drawn
Characters who agree to go will be shrouded in dazzling blue
to the device by the brood’s call.
sparks and lightning and then completely disappear.
GM Intrusion: Instead of sending the PC to the proper location,
the device sends an electric shock through the character, dazing
her for one round. If you have time, read “More Details” on page 64 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
GM Intrusion: A feathered bearlike creature (level 3; Armor 1; bite
deals 4 points of damage) hears the telepathic call of Sanguinity
and comes charging at the device.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
THE SANGUINITES
Rodia, Tesir, and Molan are Sanguinites,
part of a larger religious order that has
long worshipped Sanguinity, a multiplicity
of gods that they believe brings good luck,
prosperity, health, and safety to their people.
Every year, many of these priests make
the trek from their villages to the closest
Sanguinity for worship and sacrifice.
Although no one knows how many gods
there are, it’s likely that at least two dozen
exist in crater-dens around the world.
THE BROOD
The newly hatched brood are the young of
Minder: level 3, mind a creature known as the minder. However,
control as level 5, Speed because the incubation period is so long
defense as level 4 due to
stealth and the adults look so little like the young,
most people do not realize that they are the
same creature.
GMs who have the The minder, about the size of two open
Ninth World Bestiary
could easily substitute a hands put together, has deep purple fur and
bellowheart (page 24) for two sets of leathery wings. Nocturnal, it is
the yolpen.
64
nearly impossible to see, although some
people hear its telepathic urges as it flies
overhead. This has given rise to its mythical
status, as most people consider it to be
more bogeyman than real, and most will
look askance at anyone who says he can
hear the minder’s call. They are sometimes
also known as thought-eaters.
THE DESERT
This entire area is pocked with large holes
plunging deep in the ground and equally
large circular bits of land rising up from
the surface. Looking at it from atop one
of the buttes leaves the impression that
something scooped these perfect circles out
of the ground and deposited them nearby.
Most of the buttes feature something
unique at the top of it—a floating square
obelisk, a tree in the shape of a woman’s
face, a giant blue orb that rolls around the
edge of the butte but never rolls off, and
so on. The same is true of the holes in the
ground; they go deep and are full of nooks
and crevices that possibly haven’t been
explored.

USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
If desired, you can start the scenario
with PCs who are aware of the Sanguinites
and are seeking them out for another
reason. Perhaps they’ve been sent to find
priests who went missing or to retrieve
the teleportation device for another client
or another need. It’s possible that they
heard the brood’s telepathic call when it
first occurred and have been following the
creature’s trail ever since.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
From Here to Sanguinity is suitable in any
location that includes large swaths of
desertlike terrain. However, the landscape
would fit particularly well along the outskirts
of the Jagged Wastes or within Errid
Kaloum.
FROM HERE TO SANGUINITY
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for getting the teleportation device to
function.
The PCs may have made some long-term
allies in the priests (and, consequently, among
the people who live in the priests’ villages).
Upon discovering the truth of their
religion, the surviving priests might forgo
their faith completely, continue the charade
so the people in their villages feel safe, or try
to destroy all of the remaining broods so they
don’t harm more people. Those who return
to their villages give the characters an open
invitation to stop by anytime. Those who try
to destroy the remaining broods might invite
the PCs to help or just ask the characters to
keep an eye out for such creatures on their
travels. Broods thrive in protected spaces,
such as caves, hollowed-out structures, and
very large, empty devices.
PCs who choose to search for more broods Jagged Wastes,
and destroy them may come across any of page 187
the other adventures in this book as part of Errid Kaloum,
their search. page 191
65
 ESCAPE FROM
THE OBELISK
The obelisk near BRIEF SUMMARY the obelisk is inhabited by a nano named
Duzanan village isn’t A deranged nano kidnaps and infects the Glethran. Glethran spent years exploring
the one shown on page PCs with a lethal condition. The characters and slowly converting various cavities and
129 of the Numenera
corebook—it’s not nearly
must find an antidote somewhere within the chambers within the obelisk to serve his
as large and it doesn’t nano’s prior-world facility before it’s too late. research needs. What’s more, he sometimes
produce water—but plucks travelers passing through Duzanan
it has some visual
similarities.
DETAILS to serve as experimental hosts to an Iron
An enormous prior-world obelisk hovers Wind-derived disease.
within sight of Duzanan village. The obelisk At some point—perhaps as the adventure
has been there “since forever,” or so the PCs begins—the PCs wake from what they
are told if they get a chance to ask about it. thought was a normal ten-hour rest. They
To the Duzanan locals, it’s just part of the find themselves somewhere completely
normal scenery, like a cloud that never drifts different from where they began their rest,
past. Unbeknownst to the average Duzana, which was possibly in or near Duzanan, but

66

potentially anywhere; Glethran has a long
reach.
Part of the nano’s experiment is to
observe and record the PCs’ reactions to
their new predicament. For their part, the
PCs discover that they each bear some kind
of weird tumor on their skin that’s slowly
growing larger. According to a message
delivered by Glethran, the tumors will
eventually transform each of them into
an unmoving solid. The characters may
attempt to escape from the obelisk, though
it would be wiser to find Glethran first and
force him to provide an antidote.
SALIENT POINTS:
• A nano named Glethran captures the
PCs and injects them with a slow-acting
“virus” that will eventually kill them
unless an antidote or treatment is
found.
• The PCs’ best chance for survival isn’t
getting out of the obelisk, but finding
an object that will unlock a healing
option in Glethran’s sanctum inside the
structure.
• Glethran knows the ins and outs of the
obelisk, and he uses that knowledge
against the PCs, mainly by teleporting
them around with his Looking Glass.
• Glethran wants to study the PCs as they
change and deal with challenges, so
he doesn’t flee the obelisk even if the
characters seem to be finding success.
• The obelisk is from the prior worlds;
Glethran has occupied it relatively
recently.
• The PCs must find one key that renders
them immune to the Looking Glass
teleport function, and a second key that
will cause the Looking Glass to cure
them of their infection.
• The PCs are effectively working against
time as well as Glethran’s machinations.
STARTING POINT
After a discontinuity, the PCs awake in an
unfamiliar chamber that is obviously of the
prior worlds. The discontinuity could be
anything—a ten-hour rest, darkness after
passing through an odd portal, a flash of
strange light, and so on. A two-dimensional
ESCAPE FROM THE OBELISK
image forms, showing a male human. The The weird tumor is a
metal-hard sparkling
man—who almost seems to be standing
silver pustule with
behind a pane of fogged glass—tells the invasive veins spreading
PCs, “I’m your host. Call me Glethran. As slowly through a victim’s
of this moment, you have one day at most skin.
before the Iron Wind-derived infection
The image was sent
I’ve given each of you transforms you
via one of the functions
into a wondrously new but utterly lifeless of the Looking Glass,
substance. Until then, have fun exploring a device in Glethran’s
the obelisk. If you’re especially lucky, maybe sanctum. Hurting or
disrupting the image has
you’ll get free—for all the good it’ll do you. no effect on the nano.
I’ll be watching!”
The chamber has four exits. All empty into Describe the interior of
curved, tubelike tunnels of spongy orange the obelisk as a series
material. of winding prior-worlds
chambers, connected by
ascending and descending
Reveal Show ’Em S to the players. tubelike hallways that
are spongy and have no
THE WRAP-UP windows.
The Looking Glass, a level 8 device in
Glethran’s sanctum (which the nano Show ’Em S, page 81
normally occupies), can cure the PCs if
they apply the proper instruction sequence
or connect a proper input device to it. The Glethran: level 6; health
Looking Glass can also send the characters 27; Armor 3 from an
back to where they were kidnapped from, if esotery; long-range
matter-disruption
they wish. Glethran is in the chamber, and
attack inflicts 6 points
the PCs must deal with him, too, though he of damage that ignore
isn’t automatically violent. Armor
KEYS
This scenario has two keys.
Something that changes the phase of all the characters
at once, rendering them immune to Glethran’s Looking
Glass meddling. This is a dimensional effect, but it could
be rendered by possessing the proper knowledge or by
application of the proper device.
An object or a piece of specific numenera knowledge
that serves as a command module or sequence
of instructions for the Looking Glass. Using it in
conjunction with the Looking Glass will cleanse the
infected PCs of their troublesome Iron Wind-derived
tumors.
If an encounter has the potential to include a key but does
not, it may have a few random cyphers instead, depending on
the flow of the session. Overall, the entire scenario should offer
the PCs approximately six to eight cyphers.
67
 The Obelisk
FLOATING OBELISK
The obelisk is obviously of the prior worlds. The map OBELISK INTERIOR
shows a cross-section view. If the PCs find a way All the obelisk chambers shown on the map are
to get to the obelisk’s exterior (possibly by using a composed of spongelike orange material that is
phase-changer cypher or something similar), they hard to destroy (level 7). Though some tunnels
find a fairly smooth synth surface (level 8). Climbing may seem quite steep on the map cross-
up or down its exterior is a level 5 task. The obelisk’s section, they are easy to navigate normally.
bottom-most point is still about 1,000 feet (300
meters) above the rocky, mountainous ground below.
Since the obelisk spins slowly in place, PCs on the
exterior may eventually spy the village of Duzanan in
the distance.

WAKE UP
The PCs are deposited in this location by Glethran
(using the Looking Glass), and it is where events
described under Starting Point occur. From here, they
see a total of four passages. Two are dark, faint green
light shines from the passage leading down, and cold
blue light leaks from the passage leading up.

PREVIOUS VICTIM
A man named Kadak (level 5) is a previous victim of Glethran who
hasn’t yet fully succumbed to the nano’s infection. Half of Kadak’s
body (one arm, one leg, and half his face) has been transformed
to immobile, silvery metal, increasing the difficulty of all tasks he
attempts by three steps. Kadak says that Glethran’s image appears
sometimes to taunt him, and other times to pluck him from one
chamber and drop him into another, instantly. Kadak has given up
and is waiting for the transformation to complete so his suffering
will end.
Kadak either knows a command phrase or possesses a device that
serves as the KEY. Extracting that is a difficulty 5 task, however,
because he has lost interest in living.
GM Intrusion: Kadak’s touch or mere presence causes a character’s
own infection to advance, rendering the PC’s hand into a solid mass
of strange material.

GLETHRAN’S SANCTUM
This chamber is filled with numenera control panels, banks of machinery, and walls of mysterious
devices, but none are as impressive as the Looking Glass, which covers one wall. 30 ft
Reveal Show ’Em T (page 81) to the players. 9m
Glethran is here on the Looking Glass dais, though he doesn’t attack the PCs merely for finding
him. He wants to see whether they can save themselves from their situation—he is a dedicated
data gatherer. Of course, he defends himself if attacked, and he won’t permit the characters to
try to destroy the Looking Glass. If engaged in conversation, he indicates that the PCs may have
the means to save themselves, if they can find a way to program the Looking Glass in the proper
fashion; the nano himself has not discovered the method (though he hasn’t tried too hard).
If it comes to a fight, Glethran uses the Looking Glass to pluck a flock of five tetrahydras he’s had
his eye on for just such an occasion and drop them into the midst of the PCs. If things look bleak
for him, the nano attempts to escape through the Looking Glass.

Tetrahydra,
page 262

THE GREEN WOMAN
A female human with numenera components liberally studding her
skin floats in suspended animation in a transparent tube (level 8)
filled with green, translucent fluid. Waking the woman even briefly is
a level 6 task (a task Glethran has never succeeded at). If awakened
by the activation of the external controls, she doesn’t seem alarmed.
She can communicate telepathically to the PCs in the Truth. She tells
them that the obelisk is “still waiting.” If she has the KEY, she either
tells them a command phrase or mentally instructs the room to
produce the device from a previously hidden cavity.
GM Intrusion: Glethran teleports one of the PCs who fails a difficulty
5 Intellect defense roll into one of the open cube faces of the Grinder
of Infinities.
SCULPTURE OF HYPERCUBES
A device made of dozens of yellow crystal cubes is fixed in this
chamber like a sculpture, shining golden light. It moves constantly,
so its shape is always changing. A PC studying the sculpture who
succeeds on a difficulty 5 numenera-related task opens a brief link to
the datasphere and can ask one question. If the proper question is
asked, the answer might be one of the KEYS.
GM Intrusion: Glethran teleports one of the PCs who fails a difficulty
5 Intellect defense roll back to the Wake Up chamber.
THE LOOKING GLASS
The Looking Glass (level 8) is an immovable device of vast power.
Someone who succeeds on a difficulty 2 Intellect-based task can
accomplish tasks similar to what Glethran has been able to pull off—
as well as make a portal to most places a PC has previously visited.
Glethran: level 6; health 27; Armor 3 from an esotery; long-range
matter-disruption attack inflicts 6 points of damage that ignore
Armor. Glethran carries a hypodermic needle with eight doses of an
Iron Wind-derived virus.
GM Intrusion: The PC’s infection advances, turning half his face
into a solid silvery mass (one eye, half a mouth, one ear, and so on),
which increases the difficulty of all sensing tasks by two steps.
Loot: About 20 shins and five random cyphers can be scavenged
from the chamber, not to mention the Looking Glass itself, though it
isn’t going anywhere.
ESCAPE FROM THE OBELISK
THE GRINDER OF INFINITIES
A 9-foot (3 m) cube floats in this chamber, about
3 feet (1 m) off the floor. Each of the cube’s six
sides opens into an interior space that isn’t shared
with any of the other sides’ interiors; some sort of
dimensional effect is at play. Each interior space (six
in all) is filled with a variety of the numenera, none
of which are immediately obvious. Either one of the
KEYS might be inside, along with 20 shins, though
salvaging a KEY is a level 4 task.
Entering the cube causes the numenera components
within to spin up to lethal velocity, and the intruder
must succeed on a difficulty 4 Speed defense roll
or take 5 points of damage. This continues until
someone succeeds on a difficulty 4 Intellect-based
task to understand the cube well enough to
temporarily end the effect.
GM Intrusion: The PC becomes “lost” by falling
through a recursive dimensional space within the
cube. Finding her way back is a difficulty 4 Intellect-
based task.
CREEPING SLIME
Metallic, liquid, and amorphous, this animate slime
(level 5; Armor 2; can bludgeon all creatures within
immediate range; killed foe is absorbed) is 15 feet (5
m) in diameter. It is attracted to anything that shares
its condition, such as some or all of the PCs. It tries
to batter them into submission and then absorb
them. If the metallic ooze has either KEY, it is a
device left behind when the creature evaporates after
being killed.
GM Intrusion: The touch of the creeping slime
advances the PC’s infection, giving her a third, silvery
arm not under her direct control.
DUZANAN VILLAGE
The town of Duzanan has a population of 6,000
and is situated near a mountain range.
It’s about a day’s travel from the area of the
obelisk. People in the town say they sometimes
get travelers, but most strangers who show up in
Duzanan seem to leave suddenly, never to return.
If you have time, read “More Details” on page 70 for
information and ideas to enhance this scenario.
 MORE DETAILS
Read this section if you have time.
INSIDE THE OBELISK
For all Glethran’s time and study of the
obelisk, it has many chambers and secrets
that he has yet to understand, not least of
which is the green woman. If the PCs spend
more time in the obelisk, they find other
chambers containing more humanoids
similar to the green woman in stasis capsules
(as well as other weirdness). All the static
humanoids are waiting for some event, but
the PCs probably can’t easily determine
whether that event is uncountable aeons in
the future, or whether it’s long past and no
one told the sleepers.
THE LOOKING GLASS
As an immobile artifact under the PCs’
control, the Looking Glass has the following
statistics.
Level: 1d6 + 3
Form: Silvery mirror framed by solid, silvery
humanoid forms
Effect: Each use of the Looking Glass is a
difficulty 2 Intellect-based task and can
accomplish one of the following effects.
1. Cause the glass to view a location the
user has visited before for up to one
minute.
2. Cause the glass to view an individual the
user has seen before for up to one minute.
3. Project an audible, two-dimensional
image of the user to a location or an
individual currently shown on the glass.
4. Transport the user and his allies to the
location or into the presence of the
individual currently shown on the glass.
5. Simultaneously transport up to seven
individuals shown on the glass to a
location the user has previously visited
Anke: level 2, detecting (assuming none of them have been
falsehoods as level 4 rendered immune to this effect by one of
the KEYS).
6. Remove any deleterious nanobot
infection from individuals who transport
themselves to another location through
the glass (assuming the user has obtained
the KEY that grants this functionality).
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
70
GRINDER OF INFINITIES
This object was an artifact of considerable
power and importance to entities of one
of the prior worlds. PCs skilled with the
numenera who really take the time to
study it feel that its full capabilities are
slumbering, perhaps beyond recall. They
also gain the sense that the grinder might
be a shifting portal to an infinity of alternate
times, locations, and dimensions. However,
the control mechanism for it is lost. If it
could be found and the Grinder of Infinities
reactivated, who knows what might be
possible?
USING THIS IN A
CAMPAIGN
Read this section only if you’re using the
scenario in a campaign (and thus less likely
to be under time pressure).
If desired, you can start Escape From
the Obelisk with PCs who are not caught
unawares, but rather are traveling through
the region. Perhaps they were in the area
looking for Kadak because they want to
collect a 100-shin bounty on him leveled by
the Aeon Priests for reasons not explained.
Kadak disappeared in the area a few months
ago while investigating a floating obelisk.
According to the scant notes the PCs have
about him, Kadak thought that the obelisk
might contain something he called the
Looking Glass.
If the characters visit Duzanan, villagers
questioned say they remember Kadak
arriving a few months before, filled with
questions about the obelisk. They direct the
PCs to talk with old Anke the innkeeper for
information about Kadak, or to Myran for
more about the Looking Glass.
ANKE THE INNKEEPER
Anke, a sturdy woman of middle years,
remembers Kadak well, since he left suddenly
without paying his room and board (3 shins).
If the PCs pay his debt, she can’t tell them
much more than before, other than to warn
them to leave Duzanan; she whispers that
all strangers in town tend to disappear
suddenly, and no one knows why.

MYRAN THE HISTORIAN
Myran is a youngish man whose left hand is
composed of some kind of solid silvery metal
that doesn’t move. If asked about the hand,
he shrugs and says it happened years ago. He
is a bit spacey: his sentences tend to trail off
as he’s talking, as some new vista of thought
occurs to him. Myran’s home is full of various
numenera, as well as books and scrolls. On
the topic of the Looking Glass, he tells the PCs
that it’s a local legend about a dimensional
doorway, through which a user can walk to
his heart’s desire. Most people say it’s only a
story, but Myran believes that if the Looking
Glass is anywhere, it’s up in the obelisk.
PLACEMENT IN
THE NINTH WORLD
This adventure is suitable in any location
that includes semi-mountainous terrain in
an out-of-the-way area, either in the Steadfast
or in the Beyond. However, the obelisk is
particularly suited to the foothills of the Black
Riage mountains in eastern Thaemor.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Read this section after the session is over.
The PCs should earn 2 experience points
(XP) for discovering Kadak if they help him
ESCAPE FROM THE OBELISK
in some fashion or were following him to
collect a bounty, and 2 XP for discovering Myran: level 4, all tasks
the Looking Glass. related to numenera as
level 6
The principal measure of success for
the PCs is finding a way to get the Looking
Glass to cleanse them of their infection.
Further exploration of the obelisk is
possible if the GM wishes to flesh out the
interior.
If Glethran escapes through the Looking
Glass, he will try to return to the obelisk
one day. However, before he does, he
might inject his remaining doses of Iron
Wind-derived virus into hosts in the wild
to see how it responds outside the obelisk,
potentially setting a terrible plague in
motion. If the PCs hear of the virus and
the damage it wreaks on victims, they
likely recognize it as quite similar to what
they once suffered. Since the PCs are now
immune and know how victims might be
cleansed, the characters are ideally suited
to dealing with the problem if they wish
to provide aid. This might take place in Thaemor, page 152
Berenock, getting them involved in The
Spider Knight, or in Akkoris, drawing them
into Guilty!
71
A

72
 SHOW ’EMS

73
E

74
 SHOW ’EMS

75
I

76
 SHOW ’EMS

77
M

78
 SHOW ’EMS

79
Q

80
 SHOW ’EMS

81

ARMOR
ARMOR TYPE
Light armor (1 point of Armor)
Medium armor (2 points of Armor)
Heavy armor (3 points of Armor)
WEAPON DAMAGE
Light weapon 2 points of damage (reduces the difficulty of the attack
roll by one step)
Medium weapon 4 points of damage
Heavy weapon 6 points of damage
TASK DIFFICULTY
TASK
DIFFICULTY DESCRIPTION
0 Routine
1 Simple
2 Standard
3 Demanding
4 Difficult
5 Challenging
6 Intimidating
7 Formidable
8 Heroic
9 Immortal
10 Impossible
CHEAT SHEET
SPEED POOL POOLS
MIGHT COST REDUCTION Your Pool is the most basic measurement of a stat. Your three Pools
PER HOUR WHILE WORN are Might, Intellect, and Speed.
1 2
2 3
EFFORT
3 5 You apply Effort when your character is really working hard to
succeed. Applying Effort represents pushing yourself physically
and/or mentally, and it costs. But for every level of Effort you apply,
you reduce the difficulty of your attempt by one step.
To apply Effort, spend points from the applicable Pool:
• 1 level of Effort: 3 points (minus your Edge, if any)
• 2 levels of Effort: 5 points (minus your Edge, if any)
TARGET • 3 levels of Effort: 7 points (minus your Edge, if any)
NO. GUIDANCE
0 Anyone can do this basically every time.
3 Most people can do this most of the EDGE
time. When a task requires you to spend points from a stat Pool, your
6 Typical task requiring focus, but
Edge for that stat reduces the cost. It also reduces the cost of
most people can usually do this.
applying Effort to a roll.
9 Requires full attention; most people
have a 50/50 chance to succeed. ASSETS
12 Trained people have a 50/50 chance to An asset is anything that helps in a significant way, including
succeed. a tool or piece of equipment, aid from another character, or a
15 Even trained people often fail. circumstance that benefits the attempt.
If your GM agrees that you have an asset, it reduces a task’s
18 Normal people almost never succeed.
difficulty by one step.
21 Impossible without skills or great effort.
24 A task worthy of tales told for years
afterward. SKILLS
27 A task worthy of legends that last Skills represent general areas of expertise, and are defined loosely and
lifetimes. broadly. If your GM agrees that an area of training applies, it’s sort of
like an asset—it reduces the difficulty by one step. Some characters
30 A task that normal humans couldn’t become specialized in a skill, which reduces the difficulty by two steps.
consider (but one that doesn’t See the Numenera corebook (page 25) for a list of sample skills.
break the laws of physics).
 Connection
Uraz is never fooled by your illusions
Crail
or affected by your trickery abilities. You
suspect it has something to do with the Stealthy
mechanism fused to him. You’d like to
learn the limits, but you are hesitant to
jack
reveal his immunity.
Crafts Illusions

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

During an attack by broken hounds, you
risked your life for Tanasia, which isn’t like
you. For some reason, she never seems
comfortable when that particular incident
comes up.

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

You were tailing Karner because of his
connections to someone of authority,
thinking that maybe you could learn
something useful. But he noticed you,
and you had to play it off as being
interested in the adventure instead.

Background
Your best friend from childhood is now an
Aeon Priest.
 1 1
2
Magnetic attack drill (level 5), page 289
10 Monoblade (level 7), page 291
15
Stealthy Tasks X 1
Interactions involving lies or trickery X 13
Esoteries or abilities involving X
illusions or trickery
Intimidation X
Clothing
Synth sleeveless tunic (light armor)
Explorer’s pack

1
Pack of light tools
12 medium bolts
Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons
Flex Skill
Skill with Defense: Speed
Practiced in Armor
Minor Illusion (1 Intellect point)
8
1
A metallic, halo-like disc that, once placed
Inability in movement-related tasks
above the head, floats there indefinitely.
Clawed gauntlet (light) -1 2
Crossbow (medium) 4
 Connection
Haro is particularly tuned into your
Etolas
mental powers. While you’re within short
range of her, the two of you are always in Strong-Willed
telepathic contact, and (if you were high
enough tier), you suspect she would not
nano
be harmed by your Psychic Bursts.
Commands Mental Powers

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

You think you saw Uraz sleepwalk
one time, though you wonder if it was
his mechanical skeleton rather than his
own mind that controlled him. The idea
worries you, because you suspect you
can’t affect the minds of mechanisms.

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

Crail told you that she had a lead on a
potentially lucrative information source.
Unfortunately, she’s since told you her
lead has grown cold.

Background
You trained for a time with a group of
Aeon Priests, and they still look upon you
with fondness. Most of them, anyhow.
 1 1
3
Datasphere siphon (level 6), page 283
10 Eagleseye (level 5), page 285
Friction-reducing gel (level 5), page 286
10
19
1
Resisting mental effects X
Tasks requiring incredible focus or X
concentration
Understanding and identifying X
numenera Clothing
A book of the numenera
Purple head covering artifact adds 1 point

1
to your Intellect Pool (already added to
your Pool). If you’re ever without the
Practiced With Light Weapons
artifact, subtract 5 points from your
Onslaught (1 Intellect point)
Intellect Pool; the points are restored if
Ward (already figured in Armor)
you regain the item.
Telepathic (1+ Intellect points)
6
1
Inability: figuring out puzzles or problems,
memorizing things, or using lore Canister that produces an extremely foul
odor and a puff of dark red smoke when
Dagger (light) -1 2 opened
 Connection
Etolas can cause your telekinetic powers
Haro
to act oddly. Every once in a while, if he
stands directly next to you, your powers Clever
are cancelled, but at other times, they
seem to improve.
nano
Karner seems like he’s got something
Focuses Mind Over Matter

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

to prove to you. You suspect you may
have accidentally insulted him and his
flowery ways once.

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

You suspect that the other PCs won’t
succeed without you.

Background
You learned nano-sorcery in the temple
of an obscure god. Its priests and
worshippers, although small in number,
respect and admire your talents and
potential.
 1 1
3
Sheen (level 6), page 294
8 Stim (level 5), page 295
Catseye (level 4), page 282
11
17
1
All Interactions involving lies or trickery X
Defense against mental effects X
Understanding and identifying X
numenera
Clothing
A book of the numenera
A pack of light tools

1
Trained in all tasks involving, identifying or
assessing danger, lies, quality, importance,
function or power.
Mental esoteries
14
1
Practiced With Light Weapons
Programmable tattoos; you can alter the
Onslaught (1 Intellect point)
tattoos on your body if you spend an hour
Scan (2 Intellect points)
Dagger (light) -1 2 concentrating on how you’d like them to
Deflect Attacks (1 Intellect point)
appear.
Inability at any task involving lore and
knowledge not related to the numenera
 Connection
You are always trying to impress Haro
Karner
with your skill, wit, appearance, or
bravado. Up to this point, anyway, she Swift
seems oblivious.
You like to imbibe, sometimes a little
glaive
too much. You overdid it once, but
Fights With Panache

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

someone brought you home safely. You’re
not 100% sure who it was, but it might
have been Uraz. So far, you’ve been too
embarrassed to ask.

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

Haro made an off-hand comment about
some people being more flash than
substance, and you joined the group to
show her that some people can be both.
Crail kind of creeps you out, but you
haven’t told her that.

Background
You have a relative who holds a fairly high
position of authority. You ran away from
all that because governing and ruling
seemed more trouble than fun.
 1 1
Initiative X 2
Detonation, sonic (level 8), page 285
Running X
16 Instant servant (level 5), page 288
1
14
1
8
Clothing (extremely stylish)
Explorer’s pack
Extra throwing daggers x3

1
Chainmail hauberk (medium armor);
reduce Speed Pool by 1 while worn
Practiced in Armor
Practiced With All Weapons
Pierce (1 Speed point)
Thrust (1 Might point)
Attack Flourish
2
2
A throwing-verred (twin-bladed short
(Inability at balancing offset by training in
sword) that deals only 1 point of damage,
balancing)
Sword-staff (heavy) 6 but always reappears in your hand within
Dagger (light) -1 2 a few hours if you haven’t already
retrieved it.
Broadsword, jeweled (med) 4
 Connection
You risked your life to save Crail’s during
Tanasia
an attack by broken hounds. You were
wounded, and though you were healed, Graceful
the wound still sometimes pains you.
Whether Crail knows this is up to you.
glaive
You know a secret word that makes
Masters Weaponry

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Uraz lose control of the mechanical
skeleton he’s fused to, apparently
awakening a different consciousness
within the skeleton. You’re not sure the
consciousness has the best interests of
Uraz in mind, but boy, can it fight!

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

There is a reward involved, and you need
the money.

Background
You trained in an isolated monastery far
away. The monks think of you as a sibling,
but you’re a stranger to all others.
 1 1
Balance and careful movement X 2
Detonation, gravity (level 6), page 284
Physical performing arts X
16 Gravity-nullifying spray (level 8), page 287
Speed defense X
1
Jumping X
12
1
8
Clothing
Explorer’s pack
Shield

1
Synth bodywrap (medium armor); reduce
Speed Pool by 1 while worn
Practiced in Armor
12 medium bolts
Practiced With All Weapons
Thrust (1 Might point)
Pierce (1 Speed point)
Weapon Master: +1 damage with broadsword
5
3
(already figured in attacks)
Pair of holsters containing metallic
objects with handles and triggers that
Broadsword (medium) 5 instantly etch tattoos when they are
Crossbow (medium) 4 pressed against flesh and the trigger is
pulled; one etches a black scorpion, the
other a red eye
 Connection
Tanasia knows a secret command word
Uraz
that renders you unconscious for up
to one minute, during which time a Mechanical
“battle AI” comes online in your fused
exoskeleton and acts according to its
jack
own mysterious agenda (which the GM
Fuses Flesh and Steel

TM and © 2015 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

determines). Once used, the phrase won’t
work on you again until several days have
passed.
You once found Karner so drunk (or
otherwise altered by a drug) that he
couldn’t say his own name. You brought
him home and saw him safely to bed.
You’re not sure he remembers.

Initial Link to Starting Adventure

The parts you need to repair and maintain
yourself are running low, and you want to
salvage new ones from locations rich in
the numenera.

Background
You worked alongside your father, who
was skilled in many things, and in fact
fused you to the mechanical exoskeleton
when you would have otherwise died
from a terrible fall. Then one day he
disappeared with no explanation.
 1 1
2
Density nodule (level 6), p 283
14 Force shield projector (level 7), page 286
14
Speed defense X
16
1
Understanding and identifying X
numenera
Intellect defense X
Clothing
Explorer’s pack
Light tools

1
Parts to repair yourself (see Special
Healing)
Sense “magic”/numenera
5-disk buzzer magazine
Esotery: Hedge Magic (1 Intellect point)
Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons
Flex Skill
Trained Without Armor (already figured under Skills)
8
1
Skill with Defense: Intellect (already figured under
“Waldo” attached to your mechanical
Skills)
frame that allows you to manipulate or
Special Healing, page 64
Dagger, punching (light) -1 2 hold objects without directly touching
Enhanced Body (already figured under Pools and Armor)
Buzzer (light) -1 2 them
Inability in tasks involving charm, persuasion,
Amber crystal that glows as bright as a
or deception
candle when held
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The journey into the Ninth World is far from over. Unearth more
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Asgard. Oz. LV-486 or Gotham. The Dreamlands or the Victorian London of Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper.
Worlds even more exotic or bizarre, driven by laws of magic, psionics, or mad science.
You call them recursions. They’re like limited pocket dimensions with their own laws of reality, connected to Earth via
a dark energy network beneath the normal matter of the universe. A dangerous, chaotic network known as the Strange.
When you visit these worlds, you adapt to them, taking on some of the physical aspects and knowledge of the
natives. You become, in part at least, a different version of yourself.
But there are others on Earth who know about these secret worlds, and who covet the treasures, the knowledge, and
sometimes the power they offer.
And some denizens of these recursions have the spark: self-awareness. Sentience. The ability to form their own
motivations and agendas. Some of them understand they aren’t alone in the Strange. Some of them know about Earth,
and the limitless universe beyond it. And some of them are very, very dangerous.
What will you find when you venture into Earth’s shoals? And what will find you, as you travel into . . .

The Reality-Hopping RPG from Bruce R. Cordell and Monte Cook

Learn more at www.TheStrangeRPG.com

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What happens to spiral dust
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moves, revisions, and twists for
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